Requiem of a Queen
by OrangeGalen
Summary: Elsa didn't expect to break into the Queen of Arendelle's room, and Anna didn't expect to see a waif of a woman rummaging through her stuff in the middle of the night, but they did. With one act of kindness they've become bound together, and together they'll stand through war, peace, love, and loss, and find themselves embroiled in the struggle between Darkness and Light. [Elsanna]
1. It Had To Be Snow

**Hello. This is OrangeGalen with a new Frozen story. This actually has quite a bit of significance for me. 4 years ago to the day, I first watched Frozen in theaters (I still have the stub). Then I started reading (and writing) Frozen FanFiction. There are three stories I've stumbled across that are prominent for the background of this story. The first is _In the Service of the Queen_ , by Malthazar Lord of Shadows. The second story was _The Legend of Elsa_ , by Rinjin. And the most important one, is _The Queen's Mercy_ , by JYN044. Don't know when I first started reading it, but I favorited it on Nov. 30, 2015. **

**Around that time Chapter 58 of that story came out, and for some reason I really wanted to write a story on its premise. I remember being in the car going to a winter party, writing this story down in the Notes on my iTouch, all the way back in December 2015. I made a rough outline where I wanted to take this story and since then I have not made any major changes to it. And I asked JYN044 recently if I could use the premise for Ch 58 to write a story (I might've asked a while ago, but I don't recall...) and JYN044 said go for it.**

 **So here we are, with me finally publishing a story I've been sitting on for 3-ish years, not even close to being finished, just because I don't want to wait any longer. So if you want to understand this better, go read Ch 58 of _The Queen's Mercy_... actually just read all of it. This first chapter here is basically the set up, and the second one will be a bit more familiar. **

**I'll also put up the cover for the story on my DeviantArt page, since I drew it myself.**

 **I don't plan on making any further long author's notes at the beginning of the chapters, so you won't see a giant block of text before you've even read the chapter anymore.**

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 **I do not own Frozen, nor am I actively trying to steal ideas from other writers. However, the language I've used is my own.**

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 _~"What was shattered will soon be mended. The Queen shall soon ascend to face the returning Darkness. The eldest northern flower will find her, and claim her for her own. She must regain what was lost, and remember what needs to be found. Through trials and scars, she will find herself reflected. But Rinus will try to sway her. And if love falters, if her heart cracks, all will perish. What was shattered will soon be mended. The Queen will soon ascend…"~_

 _…_

 _"That was…"_

 _"Indeed, yes… unfortunately. Send word to our Brothers and Sisters, our plans need to accelerate."_

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 **Chapter 1**

 _ **It Had To Be Snow...**_

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 _If there's one thing I wish for right now, it's less snow,_ Anna thought as she hunkered down on her horse, protecting her face as another gale tried to sting it with bellowing ice and snow. Glancing behind her, she could make out the rest of her entourage, her escort, doing the same as her as they trudged through the harsh weather, some holding up barely lit, sputtering torches nearly extinguished from the wind. Anna grimaced as she felt the latest gust die down enough so she could squint forward.

 _Or at least less wind,_ she continued her thought. _That would be nice. Maybe something hot? Some cocoa? A soft bed in a warm room? Okay, now I sound like I'm complaining. Shut up Anna. It's not proper and all that yada-yada-royal stuff. Wow, I really_ am _complaining. The weather sure brings out the snippy side of me._

Someone came up next to her. "Your Majesty!" The head of her royal guards, Major Deserun Bredger, loudly said, trying to overcome the gale threatening to sweep away his voice. "I recognize these standing stones. We're nearing Galørn and we should be there within an hour at most. Hopefully half that time."

Anna nodded, distracted from her inner rambling, before she realized the movement would probably not be recognized within her hood. "Good! I think I speak for all of us when I say we'll be glad to get out of this weather Major. Pass it on down the line. The promise of warmth and a hot meal for the night might make them move faster."

Deserun might have nodded but Anna couldn't see it. However he did break off and move back to join the tail end of their party. Anna rolled her shoulders to loosen some of the stiffness and muttered a curse as a small gap opened in her clothing between her trousers and coat which let in some of the cold air and ice. She fixed it as best she could and then flexed her gloved hands in an attempt to get the blood flowing better to her fingertips. _I like the cold alright enough, but this is just too much._ She squirmed as the snow started melting with her body warmth, trickling down her skin further into her clothes, making it even more uncomfortable. _It just_ had _to be snow…_

To distract herself, she started recounting their journey. It had been three days since they landed at Ravenden, the purpose of the trip to meet with Viscount Nathanial Oulf after he sent her a letter that requested her presence, citing potential financial problems that could threaten the future of Arendelle, even more so than these dark times. The lettering of the missive was urgent enough that Anna decided to go. After spending a day in the port city, they traveled on horseback to reach Galørn, which was a crossroads city, full of traders and merchants, almost if not more so than Yvenis is. _Was,_ she corrected. _Whatever. Our spies aren't getting much out of that city right now. Damn Weasels and oath-breakers from the Isles._

She refocused as she saw dim lights through the snow below them in the valley, a good distance from the base of the mountain they were crossing over. _Oh thank you, we're almost there finally._

Galørn was at the edge of a valley, just when the mountains started to rise, which made it a perfect crossroads town as the major roads and paths were close by for the caravans to sell and restock and barter. A few years after the city rose those same roads had all diverted into it. Ignoring the fact that it was situated at the base of one of the few passes, Galørn had built its reputation for being both a rest point and a place where many financial deals, trading, and projects were arranged, making it one of the wealthier cities of Arendelle.

The only problem in getting to Galørn from Ravenden was the unpredictable mountain weather that could change on a whim. The storm hadn't been unexpected, as they were going over the mountains, but the ferocity had given them slight pause. It started early in the morning and had been gradually building up power since. Even though they weren't crossing over the ridge (heaven knows what it's like up there right then) it was still miserable enough.

Anna huffed and pulled her hood tighter, then urged her poor cold horse onwards. _We still have a ways to go before we're actually inside the town. Though it should get better the further down and away from the mountains we get._ As if mercifully hearing her thoughts, the storm abated marginally and the snowfall lessened, allowing them to move faster. Combined with the promised warmth that awaited them, they made it to the town line in good time.

It was well into the evening when they entered Galørn's guarded southwestern gate. She gave a nod to the two unfortunate soldiers who were standing post outside the wall, dressed in heavy coats, their crossbows shouldered and swords sheathed. _Who knows how long they've been standing out here._

Changing her thoughts, she analyzed their attire and weapons and found them acceptable. _They're not the most 'advanced' guards we have, but give me a bow and arrow over those new hand cannons any day. Plus the archers we have are more accurate anyway, though they train more so that could explain it. Doesn't need much training to give someone one of those guns. However, cannons on a ship,_ those _are nice…_

She passed under the gate and looked around the street as her guards took up positions to protect her as they traversed down the paved street. There were still people walking around, doing business or simply shopping, but they stopped and stepped away when their group rode down the street. Anna kept her hood up so they didn't know exactly whom she was, and while she wasn't wearing the royal purple cloak, the one she had on bared the Royal Arendelle Golden Crocus, which had a winter wreath around it to mark it as part of the monarchy. Thankfully the cloak was obscured and nobody took any abnormal interest since traveling nobles were common here, and many returned to what they were doing after they passed.

The town was built in the classic Arendellian style; wooden houses with Rosemåling patterns with decorative pillars and arches supporting the structures. The roofs were a bit more slanted than average, but that was understandable given the cities' location and the amount of snowfall they had. The City of Arendelle had the same design too. There weren't many stone and brick buildings, and those were mainly storage houses for food and other materials. The highest buildings, aside from the Viscount's, were three stories, most of them being taverns or hostels.

They continued on up the road to the Viscount's manor, which was three stories tall, and with what Anna could tell had an attic on top as a semi-fourth. It was larger than the other houses in the city by a story, but it wasn't so obstinately extravagant -unlike some of the other lords Anna had to deal with who just reeked of money, like Baron Anders.

Once there, they all dismounted as a group. Several stable boys who were waiting came up to take their horses with a couple of her escorts going with them to make sure their horses were properly looked after.

A light splayed across the snowy ground and Anna looked up to see that the manor doors had opened. A moderately dressed butler came out. "Greetings, Milady. If I may ask for your name I'll take you to a waiting room to see the Viscount. He's expecting someone important at the moment so you'll have to delay what business you have with the Viscount," he said after looking her up and down, discerning she was either from the nobility and/or rich enough to approach the manor.

Anna smirked knowingly to herself. "In that case, tell him Queen Anna of Arendelle is waiting at his earliest convenience. I'm sure he'll understand how his butler made Her Majesty wait for other engagements." _I love doing that,_ she thought as the butler blanched and not because of the cold. People often underestimated her and or misjudged her because of her age and youthfulness; and indeed, she was the youngest queen Arendelle had seen in a century, coronated at eighteen: a year and a half ago. _And already I've lead my country through more hardship than my father had,_ she thought sadly, though she let none of it show on her face.

"M-my sincerest apologies y-your Majesty, I didn't recognize you! I'll take you to him immediately," the butler stammered and almost scurried to lead her inside.

"Thank you," Anna said sincerely, hiding the slight irritation she felt. She then turned to Deserun. "Major, make sure your men have acceptable accommodations. If there's any trouble please come get me and I'll sort it out. I don't want anyone going cold or hungry tonight."

"Yes, your Majesty," he bowed slightly.

Anna turned back and addressed the butler. "It they need anything, if you please, see to it that they receive it. Right now my men would like a hot meal and a bed for the night. It's been a trying journey from Ravenden."

"Most certainly, I'll tell the cooks to make extra broth and bread at the least," he agreed, eager to make up for his previous faux pas. He led Anna inside with two guards accompanying her. Pausing briefly to shed her coat and thicker snow trousers, she followed him further into the hall.

"Would you like a few minutes to situate yourself before meeting the Viscount?" The butler asked.

"That won't be necessary," Anna said, merely pulling her hair back and making sure there weren't any loose strands in her face. "I would prefer this to go as expediently as possible."

Nodding in acceptance, they continued without further delay. The manor wasn't extravagantly decorated, but wasn't completely devoid of posh niceties as there were such things as paintings and ornate furniture along the way, along with the few odd busts. The butler led her down the hall and then to a room with the door open. Soft mutterings of conversation were heard from inside.

He nocked on the wall and the conversation halted. Entering with a bow, he announced, "My Lord, your guest has arrived. May I present, her Royal Majesty, Protector of the Realm, Queen Anna of Arendelle." Anna took that as her cue and with a thankful nod to the butler walked in. There were four people present, split equally amongst the genders, seated around a table. The oldest was a man with dirty blond hair and a slightly darker mustache. His eyes were a light brown and he clearly was in his mid thirties.

The second was a woman with light brown hair that framed her face with curls. Her eyes were a dark hazel and she looked younger, about early thirties or so. The two kids were younger, about their pre-teens, and looked like miniature copies of their respective gender parents.

They all stood and bowed or curtseyed. "Your Majesty," the man said, "I welcome you to my home and thank you for coming here on short notice… especially through this weather, though it was harsher nary an hour ago," he added, looking out the window at the now gently falling snowflakes.

"Viscount Oulf?" Anna questioned. He nodded in affirmation and Anna continued. "I admit it was a bit of a journey over the mountains, but your letter seemed urgent enough to warrant my expediency."

The Viscount nodded, "Indeed. The issue I discovered might cause some major trouble with the war effort if it isn't rectified soon." He blinked. "But where are my manners, allow me to introduce my wife, Helé Oulf and our two children, Roark and Emily," he gestured to each person and they bowed and curtseyed respectively.

Anna gave a respectful nod to them. "I'm afraid I don't remember if you were at the last ball we had or not," _or the_ only _ball we've had since I became Queen,_ "but if so, a pleasure to re-meet you all again. And if not, just a pleasure to meet you," she said with a smile, unintentionally fumbling a bit with her wording. _The kids seemed to find it amusing if nothing else._ "…If you wouldn't mind though, I would like to discuss our problems after a hot meal."

"Of course of course," Oulf said. "We were just about to dine as well and had been expecting you coming later due to the weather. We would be happy if you would join us."

"I'd be delighted," Anna said with a small smile. "If you'll excuse me for a brief moment." She turned around and went to her two guards that had followed her. The butler from before was gone, probably doing what she had requested. "You're dismissed for the rest of your shift. Get some food and rest. Also," she reached down and unbuckled her sword and sheath and handed it to them, "see to it that this gets to my room, wherever that may be."

The both bowed and said, "Yes your Majesty." One took the sheathed blade and they walked away. Anna went back inside the room. Viscount Oulf pulled out a chair for her and a servant quickly set some dishes and refreshments on the table. Anna could smell something wonderful being brought in.

"I hope you don't mind if my guards can make use of your hospitality and have spare rooms available for them, along with a hot meal. It's been a long day especially with the weather."

"No, of course not your Majesty," Oulf said. "You, your staff, and your guards are more than welcome." _Though, what could he do, refuse his Queen?_ Anna amusedly thought to herself. _Although I do know some from my court that would dearly like to._

"Please, if we're staying for the night, then I would rather you call me Anna," she said.

"Very well, if you would do the same and call me Nathanial," he replied back.

Anna smiled, "That I can do."

At that the meal was brought out and Anna tried not to drool from the smell. It was a _'I'm hungry and been out in the snow all day'_ kind of drool, rather than a _'I smell chocolate'_ drool, and there _was_ a difference as her kitchen staff had found out. Mercifully for her dignity, she kept it inside her mouth as the plates were served.

"What we have is freshly cooked venison, with baked potatoes and an assortment of seasoned vegetables. Not the most elaborate of meals truthfully but it's what we have available."

"It will do nicely, thank you," Anna replied as she dug in, making sure to follow polite table manners. _Ooh, bread rolls!_ The food was almost heavenly to her cold and empty stomach, and after a glass of fruity red wine (not too aged, just right for the night) she felt warmed up to comfortable levels.

"So, how terrible was the storm?" Lady Oulf asked in conversation.

"It wasn't anything too bad Lady Oulf, but the speed and intensity took us by surprise. Thankfully we were prepared for weather like that, and as we came closer to Galørn it diminished, though the cold and ice _was_ invasive," she admitted as she took another sip of wine.

Lady Oulf smiled, "Please, if you can call my husband by his first name, you may do the same."

"Very well Helé," Anna nodded in affirmation.

"In any case, it took us by surprise here too. Normally we have a little more warning for inclement weather, but this was rather sudden and unexpected."

"Thankfully we have a warm house and a roof over our heads," Nathanial said, "provided by your grandfather's grace and The One's blessing."

Anna politely nodded, "Indeed, it is a good thing." Internally however, she tiredly sighed. _I forgot Nathanial is a devout member of the Denené_ ***1** _religion. Not that I have anything against it, since_ I am _the Monarch of Arendelle, which is one of the two highest positions in the Kireke_ ***2** _for Arendelle. I just don't believe that The One blesses_ every _little thing. It would probably take too much time and effort, even for a god._

"I think the Ice Witch caused the storm," Roark said eagerly, inputting his first comment to the conversation. "No storm comes this fast normally."

"Roark," Helé warned, disapprovingly.

Anna quirked an eyebrow, "Ice witch? Who's this ice witch?" She questioned, humoring the young lad.

"No one knows," Roark continued, ignoring his mother's protest. "She goes around and seals people's houses in ice so they can't escape, then she steals everything and freezes everyone inside, killing them."

Emily scoffed, rolling her eyes at her brothers' macabre tale. "That's an exaggeration and you know it. There have been no houses frozen and no one's died –and I say there is no 'Ice Witch'."

"But what about the frozen corpses the soldiers foun-"

"Roark!" Nathanial barked. "This is not a conversation to be held at the table, especially in front of the Queen," he reminded his son of their company.

Roark paled, remembering their guest, and turned to Anna. "I apologize for my crude behavior, Your Majesty," he bowed. Emily hid a smirk at seeing her brother chastised.

Anna waved him off, amused and curious for the sake of the conversation. "Oh I don't mind, I was interested anyway. Do you know if she has actual magic?"

Roark cringed at being put on the spot now, "Well… I've heard it from other people…"

"It's a rumor," Emily interjected, trying to save her brother from further embarrassment. "A new story that people tell each other to entertain each other, and to scare other kids to stay inside. There's no such thing as an ice witch."

Anna quirked an eyebrow. "You sound quite venomous to the idea of such a thing," she commented, while seeing both Nathanial and Helé were semi-worried their daughter would say something offensive. _Not that she has to worry. I get so many passive-aggressive comments at council meetings that I don't care._

Emily seemed to realize herself who she was talking to and controlled herself, talking a bit more meekly. "I don't like the idea of anyone save a deity or royalty having supernatural powers. I've heard that Rapunzel of Corona has healing powers, but… it's… unnatural, _wrong_ , for folk to have it. Magic, that is."

"Don't you wish you had powers like that? I mean, how cool would it be to breath fire like a dragon or cast spells with a staff like in the stories?" Anna asked, actually interested in her answer.

Emily paused a moment, thinking about her answer. "From time to time, yes, I think about it. But then I think about how magic has been used for evil, and the fates of everyone that used magic in old stories, and I don't want to bother with it. Mere Men or Women shouldn't have divine power. Only the ones truly deserving of it are granted it by Denené for holy acts."

Anna gave a sad smile at that. "That's… maybe for the best."

There was a slight lull in the conversation and after a moment Anna thought over what she just heard. _You know, there_ have _been rumblings in the nobility about a young woman breaking into their manors and stealing from them. Maybe it's the same person and they're just giving excuses, calling her a witch?_ "I will say I've heard one or two nobles mention in passing being robbed by a girl."

Nathanial gave a dry smirk. " _That_ part of the rumor is at least true. Apparently she's a robber with a conscious, as only a few easily missed coins were gone each time –and mostly from those that _could_ easily miss them; the only reason they even noticed was because there were signs of a break-in, which understandably is alarming for anyone. The magic part is just gossip, bloated from exaggeration, and from unreliable sources; that 'freezing lights' came from the thief, making frost and ice from thin air. Pure nonsense, but those rumors have spread among the commoners, making them a little more wary of their homes and pockets, regardless of the fact they probably won't be targeted… Though I will say Baron Anders has gone on to those in his circle that the invader was an assassin who apparently decided to rob him blind instead. Strange how his profits have soared this year -both for his Company and his personal vault- if he was 'robbed blind'."

Anna snorted. _Baron Anders is good at what he does, but he's severely bigoted and narrow-minded, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's embezzling funds, but he's also contributing a significant amount to the war effort. I can't call him out on my suspicions… yet. The war won't allow me to. Regardless, he was one of the few who was opposed to me becoming Queen instead of my brother, ignoring the fact that he's only eight right now,... I wonder how Olaf's doing right now…_

She brought her mind back on track. "Baron Anders may be good with numbers when they're adding up in his ledgers, but when they're getting taken away, he tends to add an extra zero or two at the end of the figures," Anna said, earning a few polite chuckles at the disliked Baron's expense. _Heh, expense. Get it? Sigh. Laughing at your own puns, eh, Anna?_

"In any case, tying in with the magic discussion earlier, magic is something that only should bestowed on a select few. And if there was magic involved, I doubt such a petty thief would be granted such powers by Denené," Nathanial said. Anna just hummed neutrally, neither agreeing with nor denying his statement. "More likely that the thief's just really good, to my station's chagrin to admit."

"Indeed. If there is such a thief, then they will be brought to the justice they deserve. However, I think now that I am rested and we've had our meal, we, unfortunately, should move onto business," Anna changed subjects.

"Very well, if you'll follow me to my study, we can begin our discussion," Nathanial said. The family stood up when Anna did and after she thanked the family for the meal the two of them proceeded further into the house, the rest of the Oluf family staying behind as servants came to clean up after them. Two new guards from her entourage had taken their posts, these ones looking a little more thawed out than the others, and followed the Queen a respectable distance away.

It was a short trip to another part of the manor when Nathanial led Anna inside a moderately sized room, a little smaller than her own study, and a lot neater and manageable. At least there weren't stacks of paper and parchment covering the desk like her own. The guards waited outside as Nathanial closed the door.

"So, there's a potential problem for the Realm that I should be concerned about?" Anna queried, slipping into her Official Head of State tone, asking about what was written in his letter.

"Indeed Your Majesty. I consider all aspects of trade as my strong point, but I especially keep track of the money that flows with it. Since this war has been going on, I've been going over records to make sure we can still finance our forces."

"Let me guess, you found something that indicates Arendelle can't?" Anna asked, expecting the worst, but still hoping for the best.

"Yes Your Majesty," he admitted to her displeasure, "but that's not all. I've gathered other town's business and income charts and made my own findings. We have another two years of moderately funded war, three to four if we stretch some things but by then our economy would be ruined and a post-war economic rebound would only recover a fraction of it, if that, before we're faced with a terrible economic crisis."

Anna frowned. "I didn't realize it was so bad. I admit Arendelle wasn't exactly suited for a war economy when conflict broke out, but when it did the shift was done with relatively minimal troubles to the funds we had. It was projected to me that Arendelle could continue on this economy for many years, not the significantly shorter time frame you speak of. And I refuse to put My Kingdom into someone's debt –or even worse, a Banks'."

"Unfortunately that leads me to the next point of my research," Nathanial said. "Your father did well in keeping Arendelle out of debt like your grandfather, so when we went to war, we didn't need to ask for loans or borrow from our allies –who need the money as much as we do. But early on during your father's reign, trade started going down, and with it money and our credit. That in itself wouldn't lead to Arendelle's predicament, as trade ebbs and flows, but there were a lot of little things that added up. Shipments that went bad inexplicably or due to carelessness, caravans loosing their wares due to natural accidents or bandits, or worse, those same groups just plain vanishing.

"Add to that minor accounting errors -which have been taken care of, but not before the damage was done- and the war we currently are fighting, which leads to the treasury being at its lowest in nearly a half a century, and our credit lower. If this trend continues, Arendelle will be completely bankrupt in ten to fifteen years, unable to take loans. Maybe longer if we get significant restitutions from our enemies in the case of an Arendellian victory."

"Do you have any records I can review with my own staff?" She almost wanted to say 'proof' but that would have been rude and accusatory. _This information is beyond worrying. Why haven't I heard anything about this from my financial head? Or is this something that was kept from me,_ a dark, paranoid part of her thought.

Nathanial nodded, "Yes your Majesty," and went to a drawer and handed her the relevant papers. Anna took them and as she read them the frown on her face grew. While she would be the first to admit that numbers weren't her strong trait, she knew that what she had in her hands was pretty damning.

 _If our losses have been going on for this long, that's too long of a time period to be a coincidence. It seems too… calculated, too deliberate. If we weren't at war I wouldn't even consider this, but reality has opened me to other ideas and lines of thought. This almost seems like a conspiracy to destroy Arendelle…_

"Can this be verified?" She asked finally after a long silence of her reviewing the files.

"I copied the records from Ravenden, and had old copies from Yvenis before it fell. I sent for other records as well from other towns. What you have in your hands are copies of those as well, so you can take them back to Heimr Àrnadalr and cross-check with the master treasury, your Grace."

Anna nodded. "This is admittedly disturbing news. I need to check some other records but if this is correct and I do find other discrepancies or anomalies, then it might mean that this war was planned a long time ago."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Nathanial asked.

"It seems too… deliberate. Too many coincidences, and over such a long period of time as well. There are other things I need to look at before I can say anything, but it's looking like a plot to ruin Arendelle," Anna said, foregoing the stately tone she'd been using.

"I… hadn't thought of that," Nathanial said. "I assumed it was the natural tide of trade and just a series of unfortunate circumstances. I was more worrying about the present, and the future recovery of Arendelle."

"And I commend you for your duty, Viscount Oulf," Anna said officially. "You have done a great service bringing this to my attention, and further personally showed me this instead of keeping it hidden or going public with it, which would have caused further chaos that we can't afford… literally in this case," Anna smirked a bit at her own poor attempt at levity. Nathanial chuckled a bit as well. _Probably just to win points with me, not that I'm complaining. Good to have people laugh at my jokes, bad as they sometimes are._

"I'm just doing what I can do for the Queen and Kingdom," he said.

"Indeed. Now, it has been a tiring day and I wish to retire for the night," Anna said.

"Of course," Nathanial said, standing up. "I'll lead you to your room." He then gestured for his Queen to take the lead out the door, which Anna did and had Nathanial join her slightly behind her at her side. Not in front as that would signify that he was above her in station, which he wasn't, and not behind like a servant or guard, which would be demeaning and mildly insulting, as this was his home. So, next and slightly behind her, as protocol dictated.

 _Ugh, sometimes I wish I could just do away with the monarchy mumbo-jumbo lame protocols and all that,_ Anna moaned to herself, but kept quiet about it. _Papa made sure to drill_ all _the customs into my head, regardless if I understood them or not._ The two guards had followed them behind the Viscount, and Anna noticed that one of them had her weapon on his side. Nathanial led her upstairs to one of his guest rooms.

"I hope that this will be to your liking," Nathanial said, opening the door for her. He went inside and started lighting the oil lamps, making the room discernable. The room was moderately spaced with a (no pun intended) queen-sized bed with pure white blankets and fluffy pillows. There was a closet and a door to a washroom, with various common furniture scattered around the room and a nice window overlooking the valley. There was a fireplace that had a small fire going in it.

"Thank you, this will be more than enough." _It's definitely better than sleeping out in the cold and snow._ "If you could bring up the rest of my affects as one last thing, then I bid you good evening," Anna said, wanting to get some sleep.

"I will take care of it your Majesty. Goodnight," Nathanial gave a bow and then turned away, going back downstairs.

Anna spoke to her guards, "Please leave my sword and go aid him, after that, you two are dismissed for the night. And tell Major Deserun that the room across from mine is his to have," Anna gestured to the opposite door, "and there's no need to station a guard outside my door."

"Are you sure my lady?" The guard asked as he handed over her weapon.

"I think for one night I can ignore proper protection, especially in this weather. Only the determined or desperate would be out and about." Anna took the sheathed weapon from him. "And I can easily take care of both."

"As you wish your Majesty," the guard said with a bow, and the two of them followed the Viscount downstairs.

Anna left the door open and placed her sword on the bed stand next to the bed. She sat down and sighed wearily, leaving the papers that she had been given next to her. _This isn't good news. This needs to remain secret if it is true, which I have a feeling it is. This would only cause us to loose the war sooner since our money would stop flowing as people will make stupid… no, not stupid, just more selfish than anything, decisions with their money. Like a pile of dominos Arendelle would fall like Westelton and The Isles would like so much. I can't let that happen. I am the Queen and it's my responsibility to care for my people._

 _Well, at least it won't happen immediately, there's still some leeway. We just have to be careful._ She looked up at the sound of people approaching and saw them carrying her trunk. "Thank you, just place it over there," Anna gestured to the wall. The guards did as she instructed and she said, "I bid you good night."

"Your Majesty," the guards said with a bow and a fist clenched over their heart and exited. Then Major Deserun entered after them.

"I heard no guards?" He opened up, sporting a raised eyebrow.

Anna smiled a bit. "It's only for one night, and you'll be right across from me if I do need anything. Besides, I can protect myself," she looked back at her sword, then tapped her chest knowingly.

"I know you can, but it's my job to be concerned about such things Anna." While almost all would say that Anna was someone that wasn't the most traditional monarch and didn't strictly adhere to rank and protocol, there still was a certain formality they needed to keep when talking with her. But Major Deserun was one of the few that could talk frankly with her without any consequences since they had known each other for a long time, as he was one of Anna's friends and drill instructor. Not to mention in charge of her safety.

"And you do such a good job at it. But for tonight, I think a little slack can be given," Anna said.

Deserun sighed. "As you wish Anna. I'm honestly too tired to argue with you this time."

Anna smiled. "Glad you see things my way. Have a good night Deserun." He left with a slight bow and closed the door. _Well, time to follow my own advice._ Anna went over to the window and closed the curtains, then went over to the trunk and brought out her nightclothes and did a quick change, putting her unwanted clothes inside, along with several other items that she had on her person- like her purse and winter gloves. She then took the papers and put them inside a folder she had, and then secured it inside a hidden compartment in her trunk. After that she added more fuel to the fire to heat up her room a bit more before she went to sleep.

Making one final trip around the room, blowing out the candles and turning off the lanterns she then went over to her bed and crawled under the blankets and sighed, resting her head against the pillow. _Ugh, what a day._ She looked up and then blew out the last candle on her bed stand, making the room lit only by the softly crackling fire. She closed her eyes and slowly went to sleep.

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 ***1- Denené: The One- referring to the Creator, God.**

 ***2- Kireke: Slang for 'Denené O Kireke', meaning 'Religion of The One'.**

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 **Well, what do you think? Like I said before, this chapter is set up and a little bit of world building. In two days I'm going to be putting out Chapter 2 of this, so please stay with this! I don't have anything else so please Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.**

 **-OrangeGalen**


	2. Theft of a Queen

**I do not own Frozen, nor am I deliberately stealing other author's ideas. However the language I use is my own, and this is the first chapter that heavily uses it, so be warned. Translations are at the bottom.**

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 **Chapter 2**

 **Theft of a Queen**

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She had waited for hours, and the time had come. She _had_ to act. She could wait no longer as the familiar pit in her stomach demanded action. The warm lights had gone out in her target's room and everything had stilled. Even the storm had stopped, which hadn't been helped by her… _No, don't think about it. It's nothing._ I'm _nothing. Just a piece of trash, the filthiest of the filth on the streets. Núvan a çiren jem. Never a good girl… Nú_. _Stop it. Concentrate. I will survive… But I'm poisoning my soul even more by doing so. But I have nothing, nothing to lose… No choice._

She stuck to the shadows, the rags that once were clothes wrapped around her body, trying to make her disappear into her surroundings. They were ugly things, faded and worn and torn, pathetic in appearance. She didn't even have shoes, which would have spelled death by frostbite for her if it weren't for her… condition. The only things that looked relatively well tended were her bloodstained elbow length gloves, and her face, which she cleaned with snow regularly. Her hair, she knew, was ratty and dirty, washed only with water and snow -never with soap; the beautiful white-blond hair was now near lifeless, like the woman it belonged to, stuffed inside her hood to aid in her camouflage.

She crept closer to the Viscount's luxurious manor. Closer to her sleeping target whom undoubtedly had a lot of money. Money that she needed for food.

She had seen the noblewoman pass with an armed escort and a baggage horse loaded down with trunks. From the noble's appearance she knew she had money. But her hopes for a relatively easy picking were dashed when the noblewoman stopped at the Viscount's manor and went inside instead of going to the local tavern which would have been a simpler place to get into. The manor had been the one place in Galørn she didn't want to steal from because unlike many nobles or wealthy, Viscount Oulf was more generous to the poor. He had actually given her money a week ago on a trip through town, thinking she was just another faceless, homeless person in rags in need of coin. He knew not who, or rather _what_ she was.

He earned the distinction in her mind as just a rich noble rather than a snobbish rich noble, which made what she was going to do all the worse, and the guilt build up inside her.

The last of her money had been spent yesterday, and without money, she would have to either steal it or steal food. And it was much easier to take a few coins from someone who probably wouldn't even notice it, or had money to spare, than to steal somebody's work.

Say what you will, but even in her sorrowful state of being she still had morals and standards.

Ever since she was thrown out of the orphanage by Madame Gertrude, she could never find work. No one would hire her, and if she were on the rare instance, she ruined it shortly thereafter. Not even in the few whorehouses that still existed in Arendelle could she get work as her… _curse_ made it impossible to keep a job longer than a week.

It was ironic that the very thing that had destroyed her life, ruined her chances of _living_ instead of _surviving_ , was the thing that offered a way to escape or at least slow for a little while the inevitable death that awaited her in the future. _Die in a week or die in a year. We all die. Everything does. It would be so easy to escape from this hell I'm living._

 _But… I'm afraid of taking that step. I don't want to escape that way._

 _…Not yet though. Not today. I can never be certain of tomorrow though._

She was now up against the manor's wall, looking up at the second story window of her next hot meal slip. She shivered, never from the cold, but from the absolute fear that ruled her mind for what she had to do. _I don't want to do this, I don't like to do this. But I_ need _to. I don't have a choice. I'll die if I don't. Maybe she'll have me killed if I get caught._ She entertained the thought a moment. _There are worse ways to die than execution for theft. Die in a week or die tomorrow. We all die. Only the Gods are immortal. And I am_ far _from divine._

Resolved in her Damned path, she slowly lifted up her left hand and, with shaking fingers, pulled the glove off of it. Her hand and arm were crisscrossed with white and pink lines, some recently added, others not. Putting her glove in a little pouch she had made, she held out her hand and tried to still her shaking hand for what she needed to do. She tried to concentrate- one little slip could spell disaster, for it had happened before and she knew it will happen again, like a fuse for a cannon that had been lit but hadn't gone off yet.

With enormous effort, she tried to create a usable staircase. Ice slowly crept up the wall and jutted outward, forming crude steps that no sane person would trust with their weight.

Though most sane people weren't living such a desperate life as she was. And they certainly didn't have magical curses. Also those people were heavier than the little waif of a woman that was about to use those steps, which would never support them –well fed and clothed as they were.

The woman gasped as she forced her curse back solely with her will from trying to cover the entire manor, wanting to surge out of control in ferocious abandon. It happened one time two years ago and she had been hunted by the commonfolk ever since for a different reason than just being a thief. The Ice Witch she was called. _And a witch I am, for I am an abomination. I hurt anyone close to me…_

She reached into her ratty pouch and pulled out a still sharp, yet rusty, bloodstained knife and grasped it in her hand. Gritting her teeth she made a practiced slash and blood started pooling from her arm. _I must be a good girl, otherwise I get punished. If my aberration comes out, I need to be punished. And if there's no one around, I must punish myself. Those are the rules. It's my penance for unleashing my curse onto the world, for disgusting it with my- nú, stop, that's Madame talking… but I still must be punished, and this is my punishment for my sins…_

Attempting to silence those thoughts in her mind as they were distracting her, she carefully put the glove back on her hand and switched the knife to it, then proceeded up the stairs, uncaring if her life-blood further stained her glove. It always stopped after a little while as long as she didn't hit a major vein.

The stairs shined in the moonlight, which had reappeared after the storm receded. It could draw attention to her. An unexplained glitter in the corner of someone's eye, then they turn and look, seeing a staircase of ice going to the second floor of the Viscount's manor. The guards then alerted… She shook her head, not needing those thoughts right then. Her bare feet were stable and sure on the ice, but her body wasn't. She was quick, but trembling from anxiety the entire time.

Swiftly she reached the window, which luckily for her was closed but not locked. With a small practiced flick and a push, she used her knife as a lever to open the window and she crept inside, pushing the curtains aside.

The fire had died down, but still lit the room with a dull orange glow. She could see the lump in the bed, but couldn't make out the face to the person as her messy red bed-hair was in the way. There was a sword in a sheath on the stand next to her, which made the petty thief even more nervous, as it looked well kept and probably was deadly sharp as well. _And if she has it, she probably knows how to use it well. A Torweifè_ _ ***1**_ _usually won't carry one…_

 _Okay Elsa, you can do this. Just find her moneybag, nick a few Mëten_ ***2** _\- preferably gold ones- and then leave like you were never here. She probably won't even notice a few coins are gone, like most. Aaaand the moneybag isn't on the stand,_ she realized, looking for it, _so she must have kept it in her trunk. Okay, keep it together._

Her eyes were properly adjusted so she could see the trunk along the wall of the room so she crept over to it, stopping when she stepped on a creaky floorboard to make sure the other room's occupant hadn't noticed. She froze when she heard the woman shift before settling back in. After a long moment she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

Kneeling down next to the trunk, she opened it up and started looking. "Where is it?" She muttered to herself. Carefully she started rummaging through the trunk, making sure not to overly disturb anything that would signal someone went through the woman's personal effects. While rummaging, she brushed against something unintentionally. There was a mechanical click, and then the top part of the trunk popped open.

"What?" _A secret compartment? Well she must be rich enough to afford such a thing. I wonder what is insi- Nú! just find the money and get out. Any moment spent in here is another that you may get caught._ Ignoring the secrets it held, she resumed looking for the money, and she found it after a few more seconds. _Ain!_ ***3** _There it is!_

Pulling open the drawstrings, she winced as the metal clinked together as she grabbed a small amount of coins. There were eight after she opened her hand: three were gold, three were silver and the last two were the bronze ones. _That's good. That can last me another few days, maybe a week if I stretch it a bit._ Not daring to take anymore, she restrung the bag and put it back, then closed the trunk.

Or tried to anyway.

That secret compartment she had triggered somehow had blocked the trunk from latching shut. "Oh, innel ***4** not now." She opened it back up and tried to figure out how to close it. _So it popped out and over a bit, so if I just do… this!_ Elsa pushed it back in at an angle and then slid it back to the top, and it heralded her success with a locking 'click'. _Okay, got the coins, now close the trunk and get out._ She acted on her own command and closed the trunk, but something caught her attention.

It was a symbol on the top of the trunk, and though the light was dim, she could see what it was.

It was the Arendellian Golden Crocus, but it had a winter wreath encircling it. The wreath part of it drew her attention, confused at seeing a different version of the Kingdom's symbol, trying to figure out what it meant. But then her mind finally realized what it was. She recognized it from mandatory schooling lessons the orphanage had long ago.

It was the Royal Family's symbol. Elsa had learned what that symbol meant; and like everyone else who was a citizen of Arendelle, she had been taught as to whom it belonged to. It wasn't the symbol for the Nobility: it was for the _Monarchs_ and their family. Anyone possessing anything with their seal without their explicit permission could be executed under the law. And currently, the Arendellian royal family existed only in two direct members.

The young Queen Anna Linjal, and her younger brother, Olaf.

And it definitely wasn't a young boy sleeping in the room…

 _Oh nú._ "Nú. Oh no. No nononononono," Elsa muttered hysterically to herself, unable to comprehend the enormity of the mistake she made by coming here tonight. "This is… this is the Queen's things! I shouldn't… That means she's…"

"Yep," Someone said, popping the 'p' a bit.

Elsa gasped and spun around, trying to crawl backwards, but froze when she saw who was in front of her.

While her hair had been messed up from her brief rest, in the low light it looked like a flame-orange halo around her head. Her face looked soft and smooth, rounded with just the tiniest hint of baby fat on it, barely even noticeable. Her eyes glittered in the combined moonlight through the _open_ drapes (Elsa kicked herself later for being so careless) and the flickering fire. The nightgown she wore revealed just enough for Elsa to see the creamy toned and muscled skin of her arms and legs, and the hourglass figure she had. The woman was holding the sheathed sword in her left hand, with her right on the grip, ready to draw in a moment's notice. She looked like and definitely deserved the name 'The Warrior Queen' she'd been given, like in fairy tales and legends.

But there was only one word that Elsa could use to describe her right then.

 _Beautiful_ …

Then her brain caught up to its own thoughts and then the fog of fear descended again, thicker than it had been in years. She had been caught by the _Queen of Arendelle_ whilst attempting to rob her. The Queen of Arendelle. One of the highest authorities on Livjord, save for the Gods. Elsa started quivering in fear.

"Now then, now that we've established who I am, who are _you_ , and what are you doing here?" The Queen questioned her, her fingers subtly tensing on the sword's grip.

"Y-y-your M-majesty! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean," _'to rob you? Yes I did,'_ her mind betrayed her. "I-I didn't know that y-you w-were here, that this is your room. I'm so so sorry for breaking in! If I knew… I just- I just wanted a few coins for food, and I saw you when you came in and thought you just another rich noblewoman. I thought you wouldn't miss a few Mëten, as you would probably have more and wouldn't notice. I'm just so hungry…"

The blind panic and fear started to give way to grim acceptance. _I'm not going to live to see the sun rise again. I guess I always knew I'd die someday, sometime, and I've always been too much of a coward to finish it myself. But tonight's that time it seems. Heh, killed for attempted robbery of the Queen. I guess that's a form of suicide. What a way…_

She pulled out her rusty dagger and tossed it away from her, then prostrated herself in front of the Queen, her hair splaying around on the floor. "You have every right to kill me for my transgression. I won't try to run… Just… please," _kill me, end my suffering_ , "use your sword and make it quick."

Her whole body was trembling as she felt the carpeted floor on her forehead. Fear, anticipation, and trying to _contain_ her curse was what she was feeling -even though she wore the gloves as they still sometimes crept out on occasion; even more so as she grew older and her powers stronger. And now they were reacting to her imminent death, trying in an animalistic attempt to save itself. And her, by extension.

 _Thump-thump._

 _Thump-thump._

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she waited. And waited. And waited still.

Morbid curiosity crept from the fringes of her mind. _Is she trying to draw it out? Does she enjoy watching people suffer? Please, just end it. End_ me _. Or even call your guards if you want it to go longer_ … "Innel…" she whispered. _Don't make me suffer any longer of this life._ Still she didn't look up, keeping her head pressed to the carpet.

"You still haven't answered my other question," came the Queen's voice, quiet, with an unknown tone Elsa couldn't identify. "Who are you?"

"I-… I'm nobody, your Grace. I'm a wretch, a street-rat, a Vidijemifè ***5**." _A witch, an abomination, an affront to The One… A murderer…_

"Even a 'nobody' has a name," the Queen said, prodding her for an answer.

"It's… Elsa… if it pleases your Grace to know."

"Elsa…" the Queen seemed to mull her name over in her mouth, and despite herself and the situation, Elsa liked how it sounded from her. "Any family name?"

Elsa shook her head, "Nú, I wasn't told or given my family name." _Or even_ if _I have family._

She waited for the sound of metal being drawn, signaling her end, but instead there was a clank of something metal being placed on another thing. The Queen spoke again, "Elsa, please, stand up and take a seat. I'm not going to kill you. Maybe we can talk and work something out… or something."

Elsa looked up in surprise and saw that the Queen was looking down at her with a kind, but reserved, expression. Then she saw the hand extended to her, wanting to help her up off of the floor. _She wants to help me off of the floor? To sully her hands with a street wretch?_ Unconsciously, she twitched for the hand, a desire for any sort of contact she'd been long denied. But then she remembered herself and her curse and withdrew her hand, shakily standing up by herself, trying to appear small and shying away from the Queen.

The Queen seemed to be slightly disappointed she didn't take her hand for some reason, but started to occupy herself by lighting the candles and lamps in the room, and then adding more wood to the fireplace. The room once again became lit and Elsa started to feel warm. She could feel hot and cold, but neither affected her like _normal_ people. Not even direct flame… Elsa shuddered at that horrid memory.

After the Queen was done, she noticed that Elsa was still standing in the same spot. "Please, sit," she gestured to a chair by the desk. For some reason it sounded like a request rather than an order, which couldn't be the case. Elsa looked back and forth between the two, unsure if it were some sick trap, before timidly pulling the chair out and perching on it, ready to flee at a moment's notice. A significant change from a moment ago when she was resigned, nearly eager for her fate.

"W-why?" Elsa asked, many questions in that one. _Why haven't you killed me yet? Why do you want to talk? Why are you treating me like a person?_

"Why? Well, it is common courtesy when you want to talk to someone," the Queen responded, sitting on her bed facing Elsa. It took Elsa a moment to realize the Queen's answer was based on her previous offer to sit. There was another moment of silence save for the crackling of the flames, then the Queen cleared her throat. "So… I'm just assuming that you're worse than dirt poor and robbing people is your last resort then?"

"Y-" her voice caught, "Yes your Majesty," she answered, feeling guilty. _Why is she asking these questions?_

"And you wanted some money to buy food, since you're starving and don't have a place to stay." There was a strange tone in her voice now, and softer, gentler. "Is there _any_ family you know of? Anyone at all that could take you? Any job or work you could do?"

Elsa shook her head, her eyes downturned. "No one would want me anyway…" _I'm too old and my curse would either drive them away, or turn me out on the street before the day is done, maybe after a beating._

There was more silence before the Queen stood up. Elsa looked up, expecting her to demand she leave, but the Queen waved at her to keep sitting and went to the door, opening it, then went out. _This is it, this is when she calls her guards and orders them to kill me._ She heard some distant knocking, then the Queen spoke to someone, _"Deserun, are you awake?"_ There was a muffled answer, then Elsa heard another door open. _"I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but could you go to the kitchens and see if there's any food you could bring up?"_

There was a sigh and then a man's voice, _"What do you need it for?"_

 _"What? I mean, no reason~ Heh heh, I'm just hungry!"_ The Queen _stammered_ out. Elsa couldn't believe that she, the Queen, stammered.

There was another sigh, _"What did you do?"_

 _"Nothing, honestly. I just want some food,"_ the Queen said.

There was a moment's pause, then the man said, " _Of course_ your Majesty." There was the sound of a door closing, then footsteps walking away.

"I know that last bit was snark!" The Queen called back to the man as she came back inside her room. She closed the door then turned to Elsa. "Okay, so there's some food coming up for you shortly. I want you to try and eat as much as you can of it, and if you want, you could take my entire purse if you want before you leave…" she frowned suddenly to herself, "though that would only last you for so long, and only prolongs your state."

"W-what?" Elsa stammered, thinking she misheard her.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't _like_ the fact that you broke into my room. You could have been another Weselton assassin… but you're not. You're just a starving woman… oh, huh, you actually look older than me," the Queen broke off as she took a good look at Elsa, realizing her age, which made the haggard woman embarrassed. "Didn't expect that."

The Queen blinked, then shook her head. "Sorry. Aaaanyway, aside from all that, I actually understand and don't blame you in the slightest for what you did, and have done, even if it was against the law." Elsa hung her head in shame. _I've done many things I didn't want to do and broken the law many times over. I deserve punishment._

"And earlier I said I didn't want anyone going cold or hungry tonight. I'm extending that to you as well. But that doesn't… no, I can't accept that…" the Queen muttered to herself before she broke off in thought for a moment. Then she nodded to herself, deciding something. "Okay, how about this: you come back with me and I'll get you a job in the castle. I mean, if you want to."

Elsa blinked. "Kor? Seal'an unordill I a- sorry, you're offering me a job?" ***6** Elsa asked incredulously, slipping into Pénolägnar at first, thinking she misheard the Queen.

The Queen quirked an eyebrow at her choice of language, but schooled her expression once more into an eager one. "Well, I mean, why not? Better than what you have going right now. Though, believe it or not, it's not the most glamorous job there is, but it's still in a castle! And it does have enough benefits… now, let's see… probably could get you on as another cleaning maid at the very least, but I think I could find something better for you," she muttered to herself.

"No- I mean- why?" _Wait a moment, I'm_ arguing _with the_ Queen! _I can't do that!_ "I-I'm sorry Your Grace, I shouldn't argue against you and your generosity… but, I'm afraid if I'm near you, or anyone, I'll put the entire castle in danger."

The Queen's eyes focused on her, turning serious, and Elsa started preparing for the worst. "Danger? Are you being chased by someone? Because I assure you that Heimr Àrnadalr is the most secure castle in Arendelle. And if it's about your crimes then I'll pardon you of any wrongdoing you've done and call them off. You don't deserve such harsh punishment for barely surviving."

Elsa shook her head, trying to muffle the utter despair at having to reject this opportunity. "No… It's… me."

"You?" The Queen said disbelievingly.

"I… I have a curse," Elsa admitted, the first time she did so willingly to someone else in many, many years. "I've been cursed with… ice magic since I was young… probably since birth." _That's why I was left on the orphanage's doorstep._

She looked up and saw that the Queen had a doubtful expression and Elsa sighed. _Of course she wants to see it, to have proof that I'm a witch. She'll probably kill me for that if not for my thefts._ Ignoring these morbid thoughts for the moment, she shakily reached for her right glove and with trembling fingers pulled it off.

 _Control it, don't feel it. Ilew a ulnt faw._ ***7** Clamping down on the rushing pipe that was her magic, Elsa flicked her hand and made a small fountain of ice sparkles. Unfortunately, she had also unwillingly made a large snowflake- a very familiar snowflake that appeared almost whenever she used her powers.

Panicking, she crushed the snowflake immediately and the pieces scattered to the ground, then she quickly pulled the glove back onto her hand. She looked up at the Queen again and saw that she had a mildly confused look at Elsa's panic and was staring at her hands. Elsa ducked her head again, automatically reaching for where her knife was, but when she couldn't feel it, she panicked even more as she remembered she threw it away.

She took a deep breath. _I can wait a little longer to punish myself…_ "I… can barely control it in the best of times and it can lash out and… can hurt people." _Like I did to Alizarin…_ "That's why I wear the gloves. It offers a modicum of containment for my magic."

The Queen nodded slowly, then a look of awe appeared on her face. "That's… amazing. I've never seen someone e- someone use magic before!" She stuttered over her words momentarily. "I can't believe you can do that! You're special Elsa… in- in a good way, a very good way!" The Queen suddenly hurried out. "You have an incredible gift-"

"NÚ! It's not a gift, it's a curse!" Elsa shouted in denial, holding her hands close, and then remembered whom she was talking to. "I-I'm sorry Your Majesty, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"Anna."

Elsa blinked. "E-excuse me Your Majesty?"

"Anna, that's my name. Anna Linjal of Arendelle. I feel like you can call me by my name… when we're alone that is," she suddenly got a mischievous look. "I doubt many of the Nobles and the Council would like that, but half of them are a bunch of old fogies anyway."

Elsa, for the first time in forever, actually laughed. "I-I think I may have one or two of them," she said in mirth. Then her words caught up to her and she choked. _I-I just said I basically might have robbed them in front of the Queen._

Anna just smiled and waved it off, "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I said I'd pardon you of your crimes when we get back. You're still coming back with me to the castle… and you still need to eat," Anna trailed off as she heard a knocking at her door. She went over and opened it slightly, trying to keep Elsa out of sight.

"Here you go, _your Majesty_ ," the man from before said, "one 'something in the A.M snack' for you."

"You should cut back on the snark," Anna retorted, getting a plate full of food.

"I only use it when I know you're not telling the truth, or all of it," the man countered, leaving both of them in silence.

Anna was the one to concede first. She sighed and moved aside so the man could step in. Elsa tensed and scooted further into the chair before the man, the guard, stepped fully in. He was a several years older than the Queen, with a trimmed brown mustache and cropped reddish brown hair. His face was stern from the line of duty, but still held onto his cheerful and playful youthfulness.

His eyes met Elsa's and after a moment, he turned to the Queen and asked in clear exasperation, "What did you do now? Where'd she come from?"

"Deserun, it's okay, she's my unexpected guest," Anna said, moving closer to Elsa in support. "Okay, so admittedly she broke in to try and rob me, but she needed the money. She's hungry and homeless."

"And now you're giving her a meal and, if I know you correctly, probably thinking of ways to help her… probably by offering her a job back at the castle," he guessed.

Anna opened her mouth, then closed it. "Have I ever told you your deduction skills are as frightening as your father's? Could never get anything by him."

"Maybe once or twice," Deserun said, with the barest hint of smugness in his voice.

"Yeah, well… I got nothin'," Anna shrugged, giving up.

"And that means you're tired and I'll get the full story tomor- later today," he corrected, remembering the time by looking out the window at the slowly receding night sky. "So I'm not going to pry right now."

"Once again, deduction skills are scary. Goodnight!" Anna said cheerfully.

Deserun gave an amusedly tired chuckle, "Goodnight Anna." He took his leave with Anna closing the door shut behind him.

"Ah, he's a good person," Anna said, turning and handing the plate of food to Elsa. Elsa hesitantly took it, wanting to start eating the food as her stomach started making itself known, sensing food nearby that was edible. But she still had enough pride and sense to not act like an animal in front of the _Queen_. "Oh, go on, don't wait on me. I'm sure you're starving. Eat!" The Queen's voice startled Elsa, as someone was actually telling her she _could_ eat, let alone at her own discretion.

Elsa took one of the bread rolls and slowly brought it up to her mouth. _Can I actually eat? This isn't a trick?_ She took a bite. Once the bread filled her mouth she immediately started wolfing it down, hunger overriding her mind and wiping out all other thoughts except 'eat'. There was bread, some broth with meat in it, vegetables, and a few other things that she never thought she would be able to eat in her life. There was also a little bit of wine that the Queen offered, but Elsa didn't drink, instead going for the water. For once in recent memory, the hunger in her stomach disappeared. The hopelessness of her existence started lifting like the fog under the sun.

She finished the plate and leaned back, never feeling as full like this before. She looked at the Queen and gave a tired smile, feeling like she was taking a risk by acting this way in her presence. "Thank you Your Majesty," she said, putting as much emotion and thankfulness in her voice as she could, to tell her how thankful she was.

The Queen smiled a beautiful white smile. "It's Anna; and it's no trouble. No one should go hungry."

Elsa smiled forlornly. _In an ideal world, yes. But this isn't an ideal world_. However she didn't mention that out loud. _The Queen probably knows that, with the war going on._

"So, where were we?" The Queen wondered aloud, then made an exclamation of remembrance and said, "Right. You are coming back with me to the castle and I'll make sure that you'll have a job and enough money so you can eat. And as for your powers… we'll find a way for you to control them." Elsa gave her a tired, regretful look, mixed with doubt, and the Queen reiterated, "We _will_. You've lived too long in your fear of yourself, being ostracized in _my_ kingdom," she sounded annoyed at that realization. "Heck, if we can find a way for you to control your powers, I'll even create a royal magician position just for you so you'll be protected."

"Why?" Elsa had to ask. "Why are you doing all this for me?" There's no reason for you to do this at all. Awé gan seal juesteill sa a núnàil ***8**?"

"I apologize, but skill in the Den Lägnar isn't exactly the best. What did you say?" Anna asked, genuinely sounding sorry.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Elsa apologized herself, "but why are you concerning yourself with someone like me? I'm nobody."

"We've been over this," Anna gently chided. "You _are_ somebody, and… you're interesting, not just because of your magic. And… it's the _right_ thing to do. The decent human thing to do," she said firmly.

Elsa felt a well of emotions come up and she felt her eyes tear up, "I-I don't deserve-"

"Yes you do. And you'll even have a place to sleep tonight that's not out in the cold and snow…" She looked around and then sheepishly said, "Uhh, so, do you want the bed or the carpeted floor, which I assume is pretty comfortable, but nowhere near the bed's comfort level -which I'll be perfectly fine to sleep on if you want the bed because I'll totally give it to you if you want since I've slept on beds that felt like they were made of wood out in the field and were really uncomfortable-" she blinked and stopped talking, her mouth closing with an audible 'click'. "Sorry, I have a bad habit of rambling on. Anyway, it's your decision, so ignore the fact that I'm the Queen for the moment."

Elsa blinked. "I couldn't possibly take your bed from you-"

" _Without_ considering I'm the Queen," Anna reminded her.

Elsa stopped. _I shouldn't take the bed from her. Mé damï't_! ***9** _One, she's the Queen, and two; I'm the one that broke into her room in the first place._ Elsa stood up and said, "I'll take the floor next to the fire. This is your room and, to quote you, 'it's the right thing to do'."

Anna blinked and then gently smiled, making Elsa's heart lurch at the softness of it. "In that case," she went over to the bed and pulled off two of the blankets and a pillow, then drug them over to Elsa. "Here you go. A little more comfort for you."

Elsa held the blankets close to her, the nicest things she's held save for the gold coins that she stole on occasion. "You're being far to generous your Maj-"

" _Anna_ ," she made clear what she wanted Elsa to call her.

"A-Anna," Elsa acquiesced. She stood there, waiting for something, unsure of what to do.

"Oh, here," Anna grabbed the pillow and plopped it down on the carpet a few feet away from the fire, then laid out the blankets. "There you go. I would give you a mattress but there isn't an extra really," she shrugged.

"T-that's fine Your- _Anna_ ," Elsa corrected herself, still not believing this was happening. She crouched down and laid on the blankets, watching as Anna went about the room blowing out the candles and diming the room again.

Once everything was ready, Anna went back to the bed and laid down on it. "We can talk on the road back and maybe you can tell me more about yourself. I'd like to get to know you Elsa," Anna said with a gentle smile.

"Ah… I'd- like that, A-Anna," Elsa stammered out automatically as the polite thing, staring at her. _It's never going to happen though_ , she thought.

"Well, sleep well," Anna said and blew out the candle next to her.

"Çirerin ***10** ," Elsa whispered back. She was about to lie down as well when the firelight reflected a bit of metal back at her. Her knife. Elsa crouched down and picked it up. _Mél nút a çiren jem_ ***11** _…_ She pulled off the glove on her right arm this time and made another slash, forcing down the pain as the blade cut her arm, then put the glove back on, further staining it with her blood.

She laid down fully and wrapped the blankets around her, basking in the heat of the fire, cradling her arm slightly from the well-known pain, numbed by a new feeling: hope.

 _For some reason, after all that's happened, I feel as if something has changed for the better in my life, as if a new chapter has begun and the world has begun turning anew. Tomorrow I'll discover what lies in store... If this wasn't just a dream._ She closed her eyes, tears falling from her face at the unexpected happiness and comfort she'd been given, and slowly succumbed to sleep.

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 ***1- Torweifè: Noblewoman (Less formal variation)  
** ***2- Mëten: Coins- Arendelle currency, divided into gold, silver, and copper amounts.  
** ***3- Ain!: Yes!  
** ***4- Innel: Please**.  
 ***5- Vidijemifè: Orphan- fem., literally translates to 'alone woman'.  
** ***6- Kor? Seal'an unordill I a-: What? You're offering me a-  
** ***7- Ilew a ulnt faw: Just a little bit.  
** ***8- Awé gan seal juesteill sa a núnàil: Why are you bothering with a nobody.  
** ***9- Mé damï't!: I can't!  
** ***10- Çirerin: Goodnight.  
** ***11- Mél nút a çiren jem: I'm not a good girl.**

 ***Pénolägnar: Language of the People; also known as 'Den Lägnar'. It's the first language spoken on Livjord and many consider it to be the language of the Gods, which is why it's used in many religions, especially the Denené O Kireke religion. However it's an old language barely spoken, and rarely fluently.**

* * *

 **So as you can see, I've started working on my own language for actual stories (not fan fiction) and you could say this is the pre-Alpha version. Let me know if there are any tweaks you want for how it's given out. I'm not abandoning the language for this story though.**

 **This chapter is basically Chapter 58 of JYN044's story, but my own version of it, designed for more long-term storytelling. More will be revealed later on as the story progresses. Hopefully I'll have Chapter 3 out by Sunday, I just need to finish up the last quarter of it.**

 **Thank you for reading, and don't forget to leave a review, favorite, and/or follow for this. Until next time,**

 **-OrangeGalen**


	3. In the Light of Day

**Hello everyone! It's OrangeGalen back with another chapter for _Requiem of a Queen_! **

**I originally didn't want to put long author's notes at the top of this story's chapters, but I think this one warrants this. Plus I'm responding to a lengthy guest review, so that adds another 1,000+ words (actual chapter's about 7,400 words). First off, thank you all for your support and interest in this story. To be honest, I'm still a little wary that, despite my efforts, this story will still be too much like _TQM_. That and me getting sick and dealing with college starting delayed this chapter. But here we go.**

 **I realized as I published this story that I broke one of the vows I made when I got into FanFiction, and that was to never write a Elsanna story. Whelp... at least they aren't sisters... that counts for something, right?**

 **This chapter is different in tone, so be warned. It's not as dynamic as others might be, but it needs to be told to build up the budding relationship Anna and Elsa will have.**

 **Also, this is for The Chronicle, who left that guest review in question. I would've replied in a PM, but since it was a guest review... well, my reply is at the end. I put it there just so people wouldn't have to scroll down too far to get to the actual chapter.  
I make it a point not to reply to guest reviews in chapters as that adds extra length to a chapter and I feel it inflates the word count (This went from 7,400 to over 9,000 due to the reply alone). If you have an account and leave a review that ****warrants it, I will PM/reply to you directly.**

 **Anyway, let's get on to the chapter! Sorry this is so late in the night, but I just finished this in time for Sunday (for me anyway).**

* * *

 **I do not own Frozen, nor am I deliberately stealing other author's ideas. However the language I use is my own, so be warned. Translations are at the bottom.**

 **I'm trying something different, as some didn't like how I had the *# at the ends of sentences, so now they're all at the bottom without the *#. Let me know if you like/don't like this format. (Sorry guest Sophia, someone suggested this first.)**

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Chapter 3**

 **In the Light of Day**

* * *

Anna woke up feeling chillier than she expected. Her toes were _just_ uncomfortably cold enough for her to be brought out of the realm of dreams - which consisted oddly of whirling snowflakes and glittering ice. _Well, not so odd considering coming over the mountains. Maybe that's why I'm so cold - subconsciously I'm dreaming about the weather?_ She rolled over and pushed herself up so she was sitting on the bed. Yawning and stretching, she pondered why she was feeling unusually awake after just coming to.

At the end of her stretch she cracked open her eyes and froze when she met another's timid, icy blue pair. _Huh? Who's th-… Oh right._ Her mind refreshed itself, and the momentary tension slipped away as she recalled last night and her unexpected guest. _Elsa…_

She remembered waking up in the ungodly hours of the morning when her body felt a noticeable draft. Not only that, but it was that uncanny sixth sense one gets when you feel that there's someone else in the room with you that roused her. However, it was the muffled rustling inside her room that quickly brought her to full alertness. She had quietly gotten out of her bed and grabbed her sword, planning to eliminate the threat, as there was enough light to see the form of the interloper messing around with her trunk. Anna was ready to strike, thinking they were a spy or assassin, when the intruder, a woman, panicked when she realized it was Anna's –or rather the Queen's things she was going through.

That'd confused Anna at the time. _Why would they break in if they weren't after me? In fact, that should be even_ more _of an incentive_. It was only after she alerted the other person to her presence did she hear the truth and the burglar's… _Elsa's_ story.

Back in the present, Anna brought her arms down from her stretch and opened her eyes fully, making eye contact. "Good morning," she greeted with a calming smile, seeing that the other woman was tense, like a bird ready to take flight from its perch when it senses a predator.

"G-good morning," Elsa said cautiously, loosing a minuscule amount of tension, though continuing to glance away nerviously.

Anna opened her mouth and was about to ask 'are you hungry?' but then thought, _stupid question, she probably is_. "Do you want breakfast now?" She instead asked a better question.

Elsa seemed shocked and, whilst still lying on the floor with the comforter wrapped around her, stared at her. To Anna it seemed like Elsa had never been asked, or had a choice to say 'yes', to that question. However, Elsa's stomach gave a gurgle in answer. Elsa's eyes widened and her pale face became dusted with pink. _That's a_ _cute look there_. "I'll say that's a 'yes' then," Anna said in a teasing manner, resisting the urge to giggle. She regretted it when it seemed Elsa didn't get the joke and curled into the blanket further. "I was teasing you Elsa, I apologize," Anna said gently. _Stupid. Anna, you should know better than to make jokes at her expense. Great going. I'm blowing this!_

The blond woman sighed and finally got out of the blanket after a moment. Now in the brightening light of day, Anna took a second look at her guest and felt something in her heart twist. Elsa was covered in severely patched and frayed rags that once were clothes, and had bloody cloths that could be referred to as gloves around her arms, which were stained with blood – some splotches looking not at all old. Underneath that, Anna could tell that Elsa was skinny and dirty - understandable if not unfortunate.

"You don't have to apologize… And you shouldn't be… so _harèn_ to me. So kind. I don't deserve it," Elsa said, standing up. Anna frowned from those words. _The sad thing is I can tell she believes what she says._

"Elsa, you do deserve it. All people deserve it. And I won't hear any argument otherwise!" Anna stated with authority.

"Of course Your Majesty, whatever you desire," Elsa said meekly, bowing her head.

"It's Anna, remember," Anna said. _I don't know why I'm so insistent for her to use my name. Is it because I want her to feel at ease? Or is there something else?... No matter, I'll have time to think it over later._ "I'll have breakfast sent up now," she said and opened the door. She crossed the hallway again and knocked on Deserun's door.

 _"One moment,"_ she heard his reply. There was some shuffling on the other side, and after a loud thunk and a quiet curse, the door opened and the Major appeared. "Yes, your Grace?"

Anna chose not to comment on the sounds she heard, regardless of her mirth, and asked, "Can I have breakfast enough for two sent up? And also maybe some spare-" _wait, I have a set of clothes that Elsa can wear that_ aren't _fancy, surprisingly enough_ "-actually, never mind, just breakfast."

"Your 'guest' still here?" Deserun asked dryly, though Anna could tell he was slightly surprised. "I would have thought that she'd run off by now."

"Nope, Elsa's still there," Anna said, giving him a name. "Better to sleep inside than out in the cold and snow." _Like I think she's been doing…_

Deserun gave a neutral grunt. "Not that I'm questioning your generosity," he questioned, "but I do have to ask what you know about her. Is she not an assassin or some other vagabond, using you?"

Anna frowned, considering her words before she spoke. "I'd like to think I'm not that naïve to be fooled so easily, and am slightly insulted you have to ask that Major." He stiffened, realizing that he'd confused his duties, genuinely hurting Anna his friend, by questioning Anna the Queen. Anna realized she'd unintentionally been too familiar with him as well for the situation, and while she hated pulling rank on her childhood friend, she needed to do so now.

"As to what I know about her, I trust her enough. She laid bare her life story for me and pleaded for mercy, going so far as to accept being killed for her 'crimes'." _Almost_ pleaded _to be killed, which was… more than disturbing._ "She showed me her greatest secret, and I will keep it until she feels she can share it with others," Anna said insistently. _I'm sure she hasn't told me_ everything _, like the reason she has such cuts on her arm, or the entirety of her past; but she showed me her magic, which is a pretty big deal. I don't want to force her because I'm the Queen._ _I want her to open up at her own pace._

"Regardless," Anna continued, pushing aside her thoughts of _why_ she wanted Elsa to feel safe for the time being, "she needs money and food more than I… though _I_ would like to have some food as well, please," she requested sheepishly, going back to familiar tones, in way of an apology for pulling rank on him.

"Of course," Deserun nodded, accepting the apology. "I'll make sure something gets up to you two."

"Thank you," Anna said and walked back into her room. Elsa was still standing where she was before, and showed no signs of changing her pose. "Hey," Anna said gently to not surprise her, feeling Elsa was more than a bit skittish. Regardless of Anna's tact, Elsa flinched before forcibly calming herself. "Food's on its way so don't worry." Anna had to repress a cringe at her words. _I can talk to princes and kings, dukes and generals, but I completely stick my foot in my mouth when it comes to Elsa._ To distract herself, Anna decided to change into her traveling clothes and brush her hair. She pulled out the changing screen and brought her clothes in with her. After a few minutes, Anna reappeared fully dressed and hair ready to find Elsa had moved to a chair.

Elsa looked up slightly from the chair. "Why? Why are you helping me? Mé ilew ve'út avennuk…"

Anna had to think back for a moment to understand what Elsa said, going back to _very_ old lessons of that language. _'I just… don't,' uh… avennuk, avennuk… what does tha- understand! 'I just don't understand' -there we go! It's interesting how she speaks in Den Lägnar so well…_

"If I may assume so, you haven't had much help in the past, right?" Upon receiving a meek nod, Anna continued. "You know I'm the Queen of Arendelle, and it is my responsibility to help my people. And beyond that, I _want_ to. I hate seeing injustice, wrongdoing, or anything like that. It… _offends_ me, and I want to do something about it." _Unfortunately, I physically can't do it all by myself, and bureaucracy has the unfortunate tendency to muddle down laws to provide real help without proper motivation._ "When I am able, I want to help those that I can. Not just because I'm Queen, but because it's just who I am. I want to help."

Elsa frowned after she had finished. "That doesn't make any sense…" she said softly. "Núene damï bu deges harèn…"

That time, Anna didn't understand her, however she got the gist of it and smiled, part in amusement and the other in sadness. "No… it doesn't make any sense really… not even to myself fully," she murmured. "But it doesn't matter!" Anna suddenly said cheerfully, unintentionally making Elsa jump. "You're getting help. Now. No take-backs!" She declared with a playful smile.

Elsa looked very uncertain and unnerved, so Anna reluctantly toned it down. "Alright. I'll control myself until you feel more comfortable around m- people."

"But I shouldn't!" Elsa protested, standing up in earnest. "You've seen what I can do! I'm a plague, a curse-bearer. I can only destroy. You should just send me on my way. I-I'll make due. I have before."

"Elsa, you've used your powers in front of me and _nothing happened_. You don't have to be alone anymore." Anna came forward, reaching for Elsa's gloved hands to comfort her. _I want her to feel safe and unafraid of the gift she has. Anyone who has magic has an opportunity. It's not the magic that makes the person, it's their own actions that determines who they are._

Unfortunately, when Elsa saw Anna getting closer, she frighteningly backed away, eyes wide and full of fear. "Don't touch me!" She almost flung herself backwards to avoid Anna's hands, tripping herself on the blankets and falling to the floor. Her hands smacked the floor and there was a small blue flash. Frost shot out from her hands, regardless of the gloves covering them. Anna's eyes flashed in alarm, her soul wanting to protect her, but she suppressed it upon seeing Elsa.

"I'm sorry! Don't hurt me! I'll be a good girl! I can conceal it!" Anna never imagined someone could make themselves look so small. Elsa had turned into a quivering ball of rags and frail hair, arms clutched around her legs, desperately trying to seal any spare gap around her. Anna had to bring all of her restraint to bear as to not fall upon the ground with Elsa and hug her until she was okay. _What happened to this woman to make her like… like this?_ Anna could not even begin to think of an answer, as every idea that occurred was horrifying to her.

She wanted so much to ignore the sudden knocking on the door and just cuddle Elsa while whispering comforting words to her, but Anna knew that if she did that it would only make things worse. So, she walked away softly with only the crunching of the newly formed frost underfoot marking her departure.

Anna opened the door and saw Deserun holding two plates of food and broth on a tray. "Thank you," she said quietly, gently taking the tray from him.

Deserun must have noticed something because he frowned. "You're upset. What happened?"

Anna shook her head. "Later. Please," she said, pleading with her eyes for him to leave it alone for now. _At least until_ I've _gotten a handle on this._ "Get everyone ready to go."

Deserun looked into her eyes for a long moment before silently nodding and withdrawing, leaving Anna with the tray of food. Sighing inaudibly, Anna turned and looked back at Elsa, who was still curled up in a defensive ball. The only good things were she had stopped muttering and trembling.

Anna stopped. _What do I do now?_

Truth be told, she was clueless on how to deal with a situation like this. Her natural empathy and rational thought were the only things carrying her through this. Wounded soldiers who needed reassuring, grieving fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters: she did the best she could. But this sort of trauma was vastly different than anything she expected to deal with in her life.

So, Anna just carefully and slowly but Elsa's plate of food on the floor near the woman and backed away, putting her own food on the nightstand. Then she sat and waited. That was all she could do right then.

A minute or two later, Elsa seemed to snap out of her panic attack as she loosened her grip on herself and looked up at Anna, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words never came out. However, Anna could see the pleading in her eyes, and understood. "Elsa," she said gently, "when you feel up to it, there's some food for you. You don't have to explain, just eat," Anna said, leaving Elsa an easy out.

Elsa slowly nodded, but still hesitated before eating. Anna could see in her posture she was still wary and ate like a nervous mouse. Anna started on her own food, distractedly putting it into her mouth and chewing as she watched Elsa, observing and studying her. _I pity those that go hungry at night. I don't know what it's like to_ not _have enough food. I've never known Want like Elsa has. The best I can do is just help her my own way: to be forgiving, understanding, and helpful. Maybe in time I can get her to open up, to make her trust me, and to make her into the strong woman that I feel she could be._

 _Why do I feel like that?_ Anna wondered to herself, and not for the first time. _By all rights it should be frightening how much Elsa's already captured my attention, but it_ feels _natural. I feel that I can trust her, that she would never willingly harm me. Maybe it's me being nice to people, or just my naïvety coming back, or maybe just my desire to help someone like her… Maybe a little bit of pity too, though presumably Elsa wouldn't want it nor charity. Well, that is if I present it in the wrong way…_

 _Maybe it's because of her magic? It's incredible! Ice magic! She could be so much more than she is now. But… And I feel terrible about it, but if I think about it, I start to visualize ways of using her powers and then I start to go off about the war, and I don't want to ruin her life more by weaponizing her (is that a word? Oh well, I'm using it). And that's…_ wrong _. I… just want her to be happy and to have the life that she could have had. I want to help her. She needs help and I am more than willing to provide it. Is that wrong of me?_

Elsa had finished her food quickly and placed the plate back on the floor. She seemed reluctant to do anything, or to meet Anna's eyes again, glancing about for anything. Finally she spoke. "I'm… sorry about that. Iac onmenthén… My outburst. I've just had a… difficult past with my powers. Few tolerated them, and because _I_ had then, they hated me too. Some were… more… expressive of their… loathing than others…" Elsa forced out the explanation.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Anna said, truly sympathetic for Elsa, and feeling a tad bit of rage that people (most likely Hers) would do something like that.

Elsa sighed, sagging inwards on herself. "It… I don't want to burden you with my past Your Majesty," Elsa said.

"Well, I have heard a burden shared is a burden halved… but I won't push you to speak of it. Just remember that I don't think of you as any sort of 'plague bearer'; you're just a woman who's been given an extra gift –despite how you might see it." _And I now realize that I have a lot more work ahead of me. But this task, I gladly take._ "Oh, we need to get ready!" Anna suddenly realized as she looked out the window at the rising daylight, the sun about a hand above the horizon. "I have a set of clothes for you to change into, and we can burn those rags you have on. Unfortunately there's no time for you to clean up, but we can do that at a later date."

Anna felt a little bad at Elsa's wide eyes, feeling that she was overwhelming the woman. And she could understand why. The Queen, regardless of trying to appear 'normal', was treating someone who lived in squalor like a friend. "Ugh! I'm sorry! I just said I won't push you, and here I am doing just that!" An idea struck. "What do you want to do?"

"Huh?"

"What do _you_ want? I don't want to overwhelm you, so let's go by what you want and work from there." Anna was pleased with herself at her solution.

Elsa looked down at the floor again, playing with a thread on her gloves. She was silent for so long that Anna started to fear Elsa wouldn't reply. "Could…" She hesitated, "could I get… some new clothes? The ones that you're offering?" She sounded so timid, as if she expected to be denied something so simple.

"Sure!" Anna happily chirped. "I'll pull out my spare set of clothes," Anna looked Elsa up and down, measuring her in her head. "I think they'll fit you, though they may be a tad short."

"Y-your? N-no your Majesty, I couldn't possibly wear your clothes!" Elsa started protesting.

Anna waved her off. "Like I said, they're a spare set. _I have far too many clothes as it is._ " She muttered that last bit. "You wanted clothes, you're gonna get'em." Anna went to her trunk and opened it up. She found her spare clothes near the top and pulled them out. It was a simple top and bottom mix. The shirt was white with some green Rosemåling designs, with long sleeves that could be buttoned open at the cuffs. The skirt was a dark green with golden patterns that formed the Arendelle golden crocus multiple times. Anna then fished out a dark green jacket to complete the set.

"Well, that's all I got. Oh, there's also some shoes… but they're not really great for travel…" Anna said as she pulled out the aforementioned shoes, which were black dress shoes. _Barely any support or durability. And I'll be wearing the boots since those are my only other footwear._

"They're perfect," Elsa said, trying to keep the desire out of her voice. "But… are you sure?" She frowned suddenly. "Won't someone become suspicious when they see me wearing _your_ clothes?"

 _That's some good forethought_. "My guards know discretion and are loyal to me, so they won't question me. Well, Deserun might, but that's part of his job." Anna shook her head. "Now, the Viscount may, but I'll just introduce you as my… handmaiden or something. So long as no one makes a big deal out of it you should be fine. Anything that does come up I'll take care of. Trust me." Anna held out the bundle of clothing for Elsa to take.

Elsa blinked and spent a moment considering Anna's words. She finally sighed and nodded, carefully accepting the gift from Anna.

Anna was surprised though when Elsa put the clothes down, and then reached for her worn shirt and pulled it off in one motion, ignoring decency. It lasted both too quickly and a small eternity as Anna caught a glimpse of amazing creamy skin and a flash of her breasts under her silver-blond hair. For a second Anna stared, then she caught herself and turned away, her face blazing red and her eyes wide. _What… I, uh, whoo! Okay Elsa! Get a grip Anna. It's just skin… Is it warm in here all of a sudden?_

"O-oh! Mé'l su tiwäy sealac Torvémifè!" Elsa's panicked voice said from behind Anna, probably some form of apology from the manner it was said. "I didn't- I apologize for my... I apologize," Elsa finished weakly. Anna heard some footfalls and then the sound of a folding screen opening.

"No!" Her voice came out in a squeak. She coughed and tried again. "No, that's fine," her voice more normal this time. Anna glanced behind her and saw Elsa's blue eyes nervously peaking out from behind the folding screen. "You just… caught me off guard is all." _Well that's half of it Anna,_ an imaginary voice suddenly piped up, and Anna could picture a sly grin. _Shut up brain!_ she told it.

Elsa disappeared behind the screen and the only sounds after were of clothes rustling and the hearth crackling. Anna struggled to get herself under control and forget the images of Elsa's skin that she now wanted to- _stop, no, I'm not thinking about it. She doesn't need this to be any more weird –weirder- than it is already._

Thinking back on it now, she realized that Elsa's skin wasn't as perfect as her imagination made it seem. She recalled seeing that her skin was taunt, with the outlines of her ribs hardly hidden by her pale skin. There were several bruises and small scars marring the skin as well; all reminders that Elsa's had a harsher life, compounded by her icy powers and the fear others had of them. Thinking about those morose things brought Anna's self-control back. Also squashed her rising libido too.

She looked up to see Elsa meekly step out from behind the screen. Despite how uncomfortable Elsa looked, and how the colors weren't exactly right, Elsa could pass for a young gentlewoman.

There was a different type of awkwardness from the little faux pas that occurred. Anna tried a joke, trying to move past it. "Well, uh, I can say that _that_ particular shade of green isn't your look." She chuckled weakly.

"I'm sorry your Majesty," Elsa said, ignoring the look Anna gave her about using her title. "Growing up in the orphanage there wasn't much room or privacy and… well…" Anna could guess the rest.

"Well, when we get back to Arendelle, I'll make sure you'll have a room all to yourself. With plenty enough clothes. I don't go back on my word," Anna said firmly, meaning all of it.

Elsa just shook her head again, "I still don't understand why you are doing this."

"…Because I want to."

She was saved from having to explain herself when the door knocked. _"Your Majesty?"_ came Deserun's voice from the other side.

"Okay, so, one last thing, there should be a hairbrush over there somewhere you could use to straighten out your hair to be presentable," Anna said waving over to the changing screen. Anna turned away before Elsa could respond and opened the door. "Yes?"

Deserun was there, along with two other Royal guards. "Everyone is ready to return to Ravenden as you requested. When you're ready, we'll take your belongings down."

"Thank you. We'll- ah," she caught herself. _Oh to hell with it._ "We'll be ready momentarily. Give us a few minutes please."

"Of course," Deserun said with a bow, with the other two guards doing the same, but with confused looks at her usage of the plural. However, they were professional enough to not question her.

Anna gave a smile and closed the door. She took a breath and let it out. "Alright Elsa," she turned and saw that Elsa was still standing there, unmoved. "Ah, okay, we'll have to do your hair quickly, then we have to leave. Until then, we'll just have to wing you being my handmaiden until we are by ourselves." Anna went to the dresser herself and found her hairbrush. "Here, sit on the chair and I'll see what I can do."

Elsa slowly sat on the chair and Anna made sure to project her movements clearly to avoid alarming Elsa. Feeling Elsa's hair in her hands, Anna lamented the fact that it was unwashed and grungy. _I bet her hair would be absolutely gorgeous if it were washed properly._ Getting back to what she was about to do, she started brushing Elsa's hair, getting out the worst of the tangles and masking the fact that it was dirty. A few minutes later, with a silent Elsa, Anna finished. _But… it still looks gross. What can I do? Maybe put it into a braid? Yeah, though Elsa seems like a single braid rather than twin._

With practiced movements, Anna swiftly entwined Elsa's platinum blond hair into a single braid. "There, that looks… presentable," Anna decided, playing with Elsa's platinum hair a bit. Even though she could feel the slick and grime, Elsa's hair was fine and silky. _Yep, it would look even better washed._

"Now… let's go meet the crowd," Anna dryly said. Elsa looked like she was scared out of her wits – and indeed the room was cooling swiftly due to her emotions. Something about that jarred Anna's memories and drew her attention to the bloodied and dirty gloves Elsa was still wearing. "Uh… before we do that though…"

Elsa, after a moment, followed her eyes and looked ashamed. _Foot meet mouth_ , Anna chided herself. "Alright, I have some extra gloves as well," she said unhappily, not wanting Elsa to hide, but knew there wasn't another option available.

With a new pair of gloves and the old ones burning away in the fireplace, Anna once again asked if Elsa was alright to go. Elsa was still nervous, wringing her hands together, but after a moment, she swallowed and nodded.

Opening the door, Anna saw the two guards were there waiting. "Thank you for waiting gentlemen," Anna said, slipping back into her Queen nature. "You may take my trunk down now. And don't mind my handmaiden, we won't get in your way." She gave the two a stern look to discourage questions. Gratefully, they didn't ask any and stepped inside once Anna and Elsa had cleared out of the way. Elsa noticeably shied away from the guards, but they paid it no mind. Anna however gave Elsa a comforting smile, which loosened some of the tension the blond had.

They made it downstairs without any problems, and no one questioned why there was a second lady with the Queen. Outside, her escort was waiting for her to join them. Upon their approach, many of them paused what they were doing and stared at Elsa in confusion over seeing a stranger dressed in the Queen's clothing.

Anna noticed Deserun giving her an exaggerated exasperated look, but then smiled slightly in acceptance. She returned the smile and gave a miniscule nod, then spoke to her escort. "Alright, we're nearly ready to depart, as I know many of you want to go back home. We'll go once I've thanked Viscount Oulf for housing us."

"There's no need," the Viscount's voice came to her. She turned and saw him just as he was moving out of the doorway, avoiding the two guards coming through, carrying her trunk. "It's always a privilege to host our Queen and I do hope you found our accommodations satisfactory."

Anna nodded. "We did indeed." _Excluding the poor security… but that was my bad actually. Wasn't expecting someone magical to break into my room,_ she thought. _Also I_ was _more lax in security than I should've been._ "We didn't want to risk your life by you coming to Heimr Àrnadalr on your own, as We understand you don't have an adequately armed escort available. We thank you for alerting me to your findings. If what We find is true, then Arendelle owes you a debt of gratitude."

"Just doing my service to Queen and country," Oulf said, bowing. When he stood up, Anna cursed as his eyes landed upon Elsa and a look of mild confusion crossed his face.

"Forgive me, but I do not recall seeing you last night," he said to Elsa. The poor woman stiffened and unfortunately started to stammer. To make matters worse, some of the guards exchanged brief looks between them. The tension rose astronomically in just those few moments.

"That's my handmaiden, Elsa," Anna swiftly cut in. "I'm not surprised you didn't see her. She's works behind the scenes more often than not, and I appreciate her dedication to her job." She deliberately left a pause, waiting until the moment Viscount Oulf looked like he was about to speak before deliberately changing the topic. "Now that our business is concluded, it is time for Us to head off before too much daylight is spent."

Oulf looked off guard for a moment at the conversation whiplash, but recovered quickly enough from Anna's prompt. "Yes, of course. I made sure you were well provisioned for your travels over the mountains. You should have plenty to reach Ravenden."

"You have Our thanks," Anna said, clenching her fist over her breast in the common Arendelle gesture of gratitude.

"Tis only doing my duty," Nathanial returned the gesture and bowed, with a genial smile on his face.

Anna turned away from him, subtly gesturing for Elsa to follow her. The guards all mounted their steeds as Anna went towards her own horse. However, just as she put her foot in the stirrup, she realized her brief lapse, as Elsa did not have a horse to ride upon. She bit off a curse and went to rectify her oversight. _Alright, we have a supply horse she can ride on. Hopefully she won't hurt the animal or have reason to be alarmed. At least she won't burden the beast much with her weight,_ Anna ashamedly thought, despite the truthfulness of it.

Quickly moving, Anna spoke softly to Elsa. "You'll have to ride on the pack horse. Just follow along."

"B-but I can't ride…" Elsa whispered, nervous and worried. "A-and I d-don't w-want to hurt it… Da- damï'ut Mé ilew jirni?"

"Shhh…" Anna tried to calm her down, feeling a cold start to settle over her. "You'll be fine. It's just for a little while until we're out of the city, then we can find other arrangements to your liking." Anna paused and locked eyes with Elsa, waiting until she was sure Elsa wasn't going to do anything rash. "Concentrate on the reigns – don't hold them too tightly, but also not too loose… If you can't trust your powers yet, then trust the horse. There's no saddle unfortunately, but that shouldn't matter for the moment."

Reaching the gray horse, Anna motioned for Elsa to get on. "I'll give you a boost. It's your foot, not your hand," she added, seeing Elsa's understandably alarmed look, "and both are covered. You don't have to worry about your powers hurting me or the horse." Thankfully, the guards shielded them from any onlookers, so no one else could see this scene play out.

Anna met Elsa's eyes, trying to convey her silent pleading to trust her. _I really can't afford for Elsa to make a scene, and I can't risk time getting a step for her, as every moment could draw questions. That is the same reason why I cannot have her walk as people would wonder why the Queen is making her handmaiden walk and no one else._

It was a long moment before Elsa regressed and held her arms close to herself. "Mé damï'ut. I _can't_." Anna could see that she was trembling, standing in place.

Anna pursed her lips, biting back the urge to curse in her mind. _Whelp… there goes the easy option… though that's my fault completely. I should've remembered that Elsa's afraid of touching pretty much anything, so of course she wouldn't want to ride a horse. I'm so sorry Elsa…_

Anna quickly thought of an alternative, one that she should've come up with first. "Okay. Okay, then would it be too much to ask to lead the horse instead? That way you can walk and it'll look natural."

Anna could see the shame in being unable to comply with her first offer in Elsa's eyes. Anna felt bad for trying to push Elsa, like having kicked a puppy… ( _it was only once and completely by accident as it ran in-between my feet!_ ). Elsa nodded with the second option, and moved to take the reigns.

As much as she wanted to make sure Elsa was fine with the new arrangement, Anna couldn't afford to take any more time and mounted her own horse. Deserun called for them to move out and the small procession made their way through Galørn. Anna kept a straight back and a focused gaze as they moved through the streets, taking care not to overly react to any whispers or cheers as people recognized their warrior Queen.

Behind them all, Viscount Oulf watched them ride off… all except the Queen's handmaiden, who was leading one of the pack horses. He couldn't place it, but he highly suspected the Queen was hiding something about the woman. Just the way the woman carried herself and how the Queen deflected his simple observation… Oh well, who was he to question the Queen?

But still, the reservations lingered.

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About an hour's travel from Galørn, Anna told Deserun to call for a halt and assemble everyone for an announcement. Having a good idea as to what she would say, Deserun did so, and now with everyone's attention on her, Anna begun to speak.

"I'll not mince words, so I'll say it straight. You've all seen our newest addition, Elsa, and heard that she's my handmaiden despite knowing that she was not traveling with us and have never seen her before in your life. And in truth, I had not met her until last -this early morning," Anna corrected herself again. "Elsa was a homeless woman, with nothing to her name except the rags she wore, when she broke into my room to steal only a few gold Mëten for food, unaware that I, the Queen, was in the room.

"However," she raised her voice slightly, so as to quell the alarm her guards understandably felt, "I have granted her forgiveness due to her extenuating circumstances, and upon hearing of her life, offered her a chance to work at Heimr Àrnadalr. Her final position is still uncertain, but she _will_ be returning with us, and I will not tolerate any words or actions against her. She's had a difficult life and I want to try and make it better for her. Treat her with common courtesy, but do not get too close. She… doesn't like being near nor touched by anyone," Anna finished, telling the truth, but not in its entirety.

Her guards seemed mollified by her explanation, and the looks Elsa received were far less inquisitive and accusatory. However, Anna could see that Elsa wasn't enjoying the spotlight, as small as it was, and continued avoiding eye contact with everyone, maintaining a death grip on the horse's reigns.

"I just wanted to clear the air, so there's no further doubts. Now we must continue. We have another day yet before we reach Ravenden. I want to make good time while daylight lasts."

They started again, and Anna made it a point to ride next to Elsa, who was still walking. Even after they briefly stopped for midday meal, and even though Elsa knew how long they still had to go, she remained stoically on the ground. Anna didn't feel like pushing Elsa towards any conversation during their trip today would do any good, as she didn't want to overwhelm the woman, so she remained on her horse and continued riding.

However, she kept a watch for any signs that Elsa was struggling to keep up.

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Eventually night fell and camp was set up in a sheltered grove. The horses were secured and Anna's tent was set up, which was obviously larger than the others. Those were one-man army tents... more like a tarp supported by two sticks, but it worked and was lightweight. Selwen, one of the guards and the cook of the group, made a fire and whipped up a simple stew for everyone to eat. Anna grabbed her bowl and thanked him before looking for Elsa. _Where is she? For someone with ice powers, she's very good at disappearing._ Then the somber thought of Elsa having practice from necessity came to mind. She grabbed another bowl and began looking.

 _Alright… where are you?_ Facing outwards, with just the barest light of the orange campfire glow illuminating her outline, Anna found Elsa, isolated from the rest of the group. Due to her fair hair, it took on the orange color of the campfire, in a stark contrast to the icy powers underneath the surface.

There was a small patch of snow and ice Elsa was sitting on, and Anna frowned, worried about her. _It's… admittedly unsettling to know someone has so little control over their self, to the point they're afraid of themselves._ Making sure to announce her presence, Anna loudly walked over to Elsa. Elsa spun around, alarmed, but then relaxed.

Anna sat a short distance away, respecting Elsa's space, and held out the bowl of stew she'd gotten. "Here, it's always better to have a hot meal in your belly before you go to sleep." Anna forced herself not to wince again at her unfortunate word choice, thinking Elsa's probably had to go without many a time.

Elsa gently took the bowl, deliberately avoiding any skin contact, and started silently sipping at the meal. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome… I'm sorry about earlier, I wasn't thinking and I apologize… For the horse thing," Anna added when Elsa's face turned into a confused frown.

"No no, I completely understand," Elsa quickly brushed off Anna's apology. "You don't have to apologize for anything. Nút ir I."

Anna chose not to reply to that one and just urged Elsa to eat up, which Elsa did eagerly. They ate in relative silence, neither making conversation. Eventually they finished, so Anna finally spoke. "We have an extra bedroll for you. I… know you probably want to sleep by yourself tonight, but I think you should stay as close to the group as you can for your protection."

"A-alright," Elsa nodded.

Anna nodded in return, and after a moment said, "I'm glad you decided to come with us, for what it's worth."

Elsa looked at Anna like she was crazy (and probably was). "You asked me to come with you. How could I refuse?"

 _By saying 'no'_ , Anna thought, but didn't mention _that_. "I don't want you to think of it as the Queen giving you an order. I wanted you to- I wanted to… Gah! Words! Work!" Anna was frustrated over her inability to articulate her reasoning. "I wanted you to not be frightened of yourself, to have you brought out of despair. I want you to have a chance… and I do admit this is a once in a lifetime chance, but it'll only happen if you take it with open hands." _Ah-hah! I can do words good!_

Elsa fell silent, and Anna thought that her intentions got through when her face became pensive. Anna decided to leave her with her thoughts and said, "We can talk more tomorrow. Get some rest, we still have a bit of a journey tomorrow." At that, Anna stood up and went to her tent.

Standing in front of it was Deserun, whom Anna greeted with a smile. He nodded in the direction of where Anna came from, towards Elsa.

"For the record I'm not particularly pleased at our new addition," Deserun said to Anna.

"But you'll follow my lead regardless," Anna finished for him.

"But I'll follow your lead regardless," he parroted with a smirk. "I believe you believe you know what you're doing. You haven't led us astray yet." The smirk faded and he said, "We surprisingly made good time today. The wind and snow didn't bother us _nearly_ as bad as the other day. We could probably reach Ravenden by midday tomorrow."

"That's welcome news," Anna said in agreement, though she had a suspicion as to why they had such an easy time with the weather. _She may have unintentionally made it easier for us to travel, her magic responding to her desires… wait, then does that mean she can control the weather? That's awesome!_ "Hopefully we can get back soon so I can deal with the information I've been given by the Viscount." _And also deal with my economic advisers if they've truly missed this information. And by 'deal' I mean 'replace' for incompetence at best._

Deserun hummed neutrally. They stood there in respectable silence before Anna said, "I'm going to turn in. Make sure Elsa's picked up her bedroll before you go to sleep."

"I will."

At that Anna went inside of her tent and lied down to sleep, eager to continue on the road again.

* * *

When morning came, after a brief breakfast, the group collected their tents and gear and set out again. Anna once again delivered their morning food to Elsa, who'd done as she asked and slept close to the group, though blatantly isolated from everyone else on the outskirts. Anna resolved to talk to Elsa about what they would be doing when they returned to Heimr Àrnadalr at some point before night fell. As they set off, Elsa once again refused to ride the horse she was leading, but she seemed less nervous than yesterday. However Anna noticed a slight limp to her step, but hesitated to call attention to it. Due to some measure of pride or maybe just a hesitancy to let them know that she was hurting, Elsa kept silent.

They were over the crest of the last pass when Anna couldn't restrain herself and slowed her mount until she was next to Elsa. "You know you don't have to keep silent if your hurting anymore," Anna said to her.

Elsa looked surprised at first, but then looked down at the ground. "Té'l æné Mé hisen nuken… Iru fahlil…" she said, quietly.

 _She_ has _to stop putting herself down._ _Even if I can't understand the words, I can understand the meaning._ "Elsa, _you_ matter. Don't think your opinion is worthless. Don't think your pain is worthless. Not anymore. If anything you have the most important person in the entire kingdom that has your wellbeing in mind. Think more of yourself than of what others think of you."

She continued to watch Elsa as they continued to trek downwards, waiting for any hint of a decision from the pitiable woman, some sign of breakage from her current mindset of worthlessness. Anna's hopes rose when Elsa opened her mouth, and she eagerly awaited whatever would come out of it.

A disturbance towards the front of their entourage however made Elsa retreat and shut her mouth, leaving Anna with disappointment. She looked up. "What's going on?" She muttered to herself, as she saw restless movements among the soldiers in front. Deserun appeared, hurriedly moving his horse towards her.

"Your Majesty," he called as he came closer, the urgent look on his face doing nothing to calm Anna's growing worry. At his next words a pit formed in her gut and cold crept up her arms.

"Our scouts have come back with dire news…. Ravenden is under attack."

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 ***Núene damï bu deges harèn…: No one can be that kind…**

 ***Mé'l su tiwäy sealac Torvémifè: I'm so sorry your Majesty**

 ***Da- damï'ut Mé ilew jirni?: Ca-can't I just walk?**

 ***Nút ir I: Not to me.**

 ***Té'l æné Mé hisen nuken… Iru fahlil…: It's all I have known… To be silent…**

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 **And there's the first cliffhanger I'm leaving you guys with. If you desired action, you'll get it next chapter as the war suddenly comes to them.**

 **Once again, let me know how to write the translations. I've done two versions, so let me know which one you prefer (or if you want to suggest a different way. I personally think in this chapter it's a little confusing as you lose your place if you want to check the trans. but this is off of a suggestion, so let me know).**

 **I went several times through this chapter, trying to cut as much as I could. This (to me) was much longer than I wanted it to be, almost a thousand more words than I wanted, so I hope this was alright for you.**

 **It's funny, at one point in writing I had Elsa actually mount the horse. But then I realized that she couldn't as she is right now. She's still too afraid of hurting anyone and anything, and that includes animals too. That led to the solution I made, as I myself couldn't see any other way of writing that scene. I guess I wrote myself into a wall and had to re-write it a bit. Also, for whatever tone this chapter is (I know there's probably a description, but I don't know it), these types of chapters are a bit tedious for me, as I feel I keep going on and on going over the same things, and probably being _too_ descriptive. Can't say it won't happen again, but it'll be unintentional. (Realizing that I'm being very apologetic, but that's because I want you readers to enjoy this). **

**Anyway, thank you for reading, and make sure to favorite and follow, and leave a review -which helps me A LOT when writing. I welcome criticism (obviously no flames...)**

 **So until next time!**

 **-OrangeGalen**

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Reply to **The Chronicle**

To preface this, thank you for the review and pointing out several things. I'll get to your points in order, so pull up your review!

I admit I might sound a little pretentious, and because I'm trying to keep a new style of writing (for me at least) for this, I'm falling into some pitfalls that other writers take in regards to 'fancy' language. Your example is actually a prime one, that I myself have seen, but have copied, falling into that same pitfall as others. And I completely agree with your critique of 'wordy' writing. I have a problem of not being able to cut much out of chapters (unless there's a major change) and I admit in many of my stories I write more that I think is nice, but I also know it isn't truly necessary. That's why I don't want chapters for this story going too long (and I personally think this chapter is 500+ words too long.) All I can say now is I'll try to improve on that point.

As for the language, I'm trying to work on it for an actual novel I want to publish in the future. My reason for including it here is two-fold: so I can start testing it out and see what needs improvement/ironing it out, and I that I actually work on the language since I'm a massive procrastinator and if I don't have the immediate need to work on something then I won't. Basically you guys (the readers) are my pre-alpha testers. I hear your concerns loud and clear, and I intend to focus more on the story and characters rather than the language. It'll still be there, and may be a minor plot point here and there, but this is mainly character and plot driven.

As for Anna, the era is similar to our 1400's-ish, but it's only similar, not an exact copy. The world is different and has had different events shake it up. This is also the point that I mostly disagree with you on. Anna isn't exactly traditional royalty for Arendelle -both here and in Frozen. That she's progressive I actually feel fits cannon Arendelle views, as in the movie/shorts the people seem to get over their Queen having magic real fast and get used to a talking snowman. Plus they're uber causal with the sisters if you've watched the shorts. Going back a bit, she understands the 'rules' and doesn't necessarily like some of them (feeling they're too pretentious at times), but she'll still follow them (mostly). And if her personality seems off from 'cannon', keep in mind in Frozen she didn't become Queen, have a younger brother to raise with no parents anymore, and became in charge of an entire kingdom that suddenly found itself at war. There's also a difference between her Queen persona, and her real personality. I'll explain it a bit more soon in a future chapter, but what I'm trying to portray is someone who's had a lot of growing up to do in a short period of time. If it comes off as confusing, once again I'll work to improve.

As for the exposition part, something that drives me away from stories is a massive information dump that tells me everything that's going on, leaving little to wonder about (usually at the beginning). I'm trying to avoid that dump by parceling out the information - I'm going for a long term plan. It's not as bad as it sounds: basically by chapter 5 or 6 you'll have everything you'll need to have a grasp of the current situation. As for why the details are given, aside from the info-dump I want to avoid, it really wouldn't have flowed in these chapters and would've taken a reader out of the story. I admit I _might've_ been able to work it in, but in addition to avoiding overly long chapters I'm going for the scenario where Elsa eventually has things explained by Anna, and as such the reader gets told as well.

As for your concern about why Anna traveled herself, first, Anna really isn't one to sit around while others do stuff - example: in Frozen she rides off _BY HERSELF_ into the mountains to find her sister. You're also making a few assumptions that Anna isn't protected. It might not be explained fully I admit, but they're deep within their own territory and the worry they'll be attacked is marginal. The guard she has is merely to appease others, as she'll be fine going of with a smaller group (what she currently has is ~20 guards with her). She didn't want to risk the Viscount's life for something that could be intercepted by raiders, and once again, she's not one to sit around. There's a section in this chapter when they're talking that explains it a bit more. Also, it'll be shown in Ch 4, but the Queen has a much larger naval escort than what the Viscount would've had if he traveled to the castle. Though admittedly her attitude towards traveling with a light guard will come back to bite her…

And who said Anna is 'normal'? ; )

I also understand that chapter 1 isn't the best, but I was trying to avoid having an overly large chapter, so Chapters 1 and 2 are pretty much one chapter that's been split up. That's why I uploaded the 2nd one so soon after the first. Set-up is always difficult, and with Fan fiction, you need to show how your story/characters are different from either cannon or other FF stories. And I'm still in the set-up phase. Though you're completely right with me not wanting to mimic TQM, otherwise I'd just say "go read Ch 58 and then I'll continue from that", and also how it's like Rogue One… Don't have much of a defense against that other than once more I'll try to improve.

But thank you for the review! I've tried to not give away spoilers for what's happening, but I will say that the focus between the romance and non-romance elements will shift depending on the situation, but while certain 'arcs' will be about the two falling in love, it's not the sole focus. To Everything There Is A Season… or in this case a chapter. And I won't say exactly how powerful Elsa is… THAT'S a spoiler :) And I hope there'll be many good things you'll see as I continue.

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 **-OrangeGalen**


	4. The Raid of Ravenden

**Far too late, here's the latest chapter of Requiem of a Queen. Thanks to that one Guest reviewer that FINALLY motivated me enough to finish this chapter and for everyone that kept checking in - looking at you Copper Anise.**

 **Here's over 10,000 words as an apology for taking so long.**

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 **I do not own Frozen, nor am I deliberately stealing other author's ideas. However the language I use is my own. Translations are at the bottom. I'm trying one more way of writing them.**

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 **Chapter 4**

 **The Raid of Ravenden**

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Ravenden. It is the third largest port city of Arendelle.

Now, having the title 'third largest' doesn't sound like it should be a point of pride, but any inhabitant of Ravenden would make it one. For them, being third is an accomplishment; that they stand out from the others.

 _"Yes,"_ they would admit, _"Yvenis is a larger cityand has a larger bay; that's how it became the trading hub of the North. And the city of Arendelle is the capital and therefore more important, despite it having a smaller bay._

 _"But no other city is home to half of Arendelle's total navy. No other city produces the quality of sailors that Ravenden does. And only Arendelle City has such a rich folklore as we do."_

Ravenden is a city rich with folktales, with many sailing into its harbor with a story or two to share and trade. Even though Yvenis is larger, it never gained the thriving culture – the _personality_ , that Ravenden possesses.

Out of the several dozen local tales, there's one that everybody who lives there knows. It's the story of how their city was the second city created by King Aren I, the founder of the kingdom. Their tale says that the ravens living in the mountains had flocked to King Aren's ships as he arrived in the bay with a cacophony of cawing, announcing his arrival louder than any man-made accompaniment. The king was so awed by the sight that he named the new town the 'Den of Ravens'.

As the town grew into a city, it became rapidly renown for its incredible shipwrights and talented sailors. So when King Aren needed to raise a fleet to assist in The Great Siege, he came to Ravenden. As he sailed for the Siege, all the ravens once again flocked and cawed as he departed. King Aren would never set foot in the city again for the rest of his life.

Thus an addition to the legend was made: that the ravens knew when the ruling monarch would arrive in the city for the first time in their life, and when they would depart from the city for the last time in their life. Indeed, for whenever a new king or queen would arrive in Ravenden for their first time, the ravens would flock and create their harsh but equally aweing music.

Because the city's history is entwined with the ravens, the city folk never tried to eradicate the black birds, and were revered and honored (though privately they would grumble if the ravens got too rowdy in the morning – or anytime really). The populace says quite often that the ravens would warn them of any attacks, cawing and being a nuisance to the enemy when they would try to sail their ships into the harbor.

Only twice before has Ravenden come under attack. Both times, due to the naval capabilities and harbor defenses, each attack was repulsed and crushed expediently.

So for Ravenden to be under attack now meant that the enemy was either desperate…

Or something spurred them to attack in such a decisive manner…

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"Our scouts report seeing an enemy fleet in the harbor and fighting in the streets. Parts of the city are aflame."

"And what of the defense fleet? Where is it in all of this?" The Queen immediately asked.

Elsa nervously looked up at Anna, who had her face set in a hard, expressionless mask, as Deserun finished his report. There was no gentleness in her manner anymore, no calm authority exuding from her, no relaxed and open posture. No, Elsa now could almost feel a boiling energy, barely contained under Anna's human skin.

This was the feeling of _anger_.

Though not a blinding or consuming anger. It was focused, controlled and tempered. And it was directed at those who were attacking one of her cities.

"A majority of the flotilla is absent," Deserun answered Anna's question. "Though the scouts say there's not enough flotsam in the harbor to suggest they've been sunk. Best guess is they were performing naval maneuvers away from the city when the enemy struck. It's possible the enemy was motivated to launch their attack because they saw the lack of ships defending the city."

Anna growled in frustration. " _When I find the one who ordered…_ We make for Ravenden post-haste!" She barked. All the guards brought up their arms and made to ride.

In all this, Anna turned to Elsa, and the blonde's breath caught in her throat. The intensity in the Queen's eyes intimidated her. "I'm sorry, but you _must_ ride now. I need to protect my people, but I do not wish to leave you behind. I promised that I would get you to Hemir Arendar. But right now, you must overcome your fear, if only for an hour or so." Elsa felt herself instinctively quail under Anna's strong gaze, doubly so when she understood what she was being asked to do.

Elsa stammered without words, trying to formulate some sort of alternative, some sort of refusal –her fear of losing control rising. But even then, she knew that she couldn't put Anna in such a position to choose. _She would, and rightfully so, choose her Kingdom over me… but if I don't go with her… I would be distracting her, a thought in the back of her mind when she needs all the concentration she can muster. And every moment I hesitate and hold them back, more lives could be lost…_

 _And… to be honest with myself, I don't want to disappoint her. I don't want to leave and lose this chance… Ba Den Orlene, Mé'l su iémrll. Thinking about my wants rather than hers. I'm worthless._ ***1**

So, with much trembling, Elsa nodded and went to her horse. _Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, hold it together… You have the gloves, right? They should be enough to contain my curse long enough. Cünit. Right._ She reached out for the reigns, flinching when the horse jittered, almost giving up right then. But feeling the weight of the Queen's turquoise eyes behind her, Elsa swallowed and grabbed the dangling reigns. She quickly grabbed the mane and then jumped, using her arms to get herself high enough, and then swung her leg over the horse's back.

She almost didn't make it, nervous as she was, and had to readjust to be more comfortable – as comfortable as she could be. Despite never ridden a horse before, Elsa instinctively knew how to adjust her posture to have it be more comfortable for both herself and the horse.

Looking at the… Looking at _Anna_ , she received a smile and an approving nod. Elsa returned it timidly, feeling her stomach loosen a little. Now that she was on the horse, some of the fear had lessened –though not yet vanished. _Okay… I can manage for just a little bit. Don't feel. Don't feel. Anna's waiting. Keep it together for her sake._

"Let's move!" Anna barked and the unit rode off, leaving Elsa behind in a panic before her own horse followed of its own volition, following pack mentality. Elsa crouched low on the back of the horse, clenching the reigns in her left had whilst holding onto the mane with her right, desperately trying to adjust to the gallop movement and stay on and just concentrating on not letting _It_ out. Her breaths started coming shallower as the movement continued, and she almost felt sick to her stomach trying to hold back her curse. The loud sounds made by the rest of the group weren't helping, with the clattering and clanking and thunderous hoof beats all around her.

 _Concealdon'tfeelconcealdon'tfeelohgodspleasestopIdon'twanttoriskit-_

"Don't hold the reigns so tightly." Anna's voice cut through the panic, through the blood rushing in her ears, and Elsa realized she had closed her eyes at some point. She peaked open one eye to look at the Queen who was now riding right next to her. "The horse will run smoother if you don't clench the reigns. And trust the horse. It won't drop you."

Elsa by now was practically bent over, her stomach almost touching the horse's back. _I don't want to let go but I'm scared to hold on. Why am I doing this?_ Of course she knew _why_ , the reason was riding next to her, but it didn't lessen the fear she felt. She closed her eyes again, but forced herself to react to the Queen's suggestions. Forcing each individual muscle in her hand, she painstakingly loosened her grip on the reigns –enough that she no longer had a death grip on them, but still a firm grip.

She waited, waited for the moment where she would get thrown off, the animal trying to get rid of her and her curse. But as moments ticked by and the gait of the horse continued (even smoothened), a hint of puzzlement came through her. _Wh- why isn't it throwing me off? How am I not hurting it?_

In her confusion, Elsa looked over to Anna and only received a smile and a nod before the Queen refocused on the path ahead. Still confused, and feeling a tad flustered after the indecipherable look the Queen gave her, Elsa continued to do what she was doing. It seemed to be working.

And after all, feeling confusion was better than feeling fear. She dared not risk changing what she felt.

The landscape flew by and Elsa got used to the noise the group was creating and the movements of her horse. She still had major reservations; not the least being that all of this was so far beyond what she had sadly grown used to. Hell, she was riding off to war right now. Despite how unbelievable this was though –or maybe _because_ of it- Elsa was preparing herself for when this intricate illusion would shatter. For when reality would rob her of this chance like it had many times over and shatter what was left of her just a little bit more. _But… I want to hold on, if only for Anna's sake. If doing this gives her some satisfaction, then I can't take that away from her. Everyone else's feelings are more important than mine._

The downhill slope they'd been riding down started leveling out and after clearing a wooded bend in the road, they were presented with a view of Ravenden. It was some distance away, so nothing was clear, but they could see shapes in the water and smoke (thankfully thin and not pitch black) rising from parts of the city.

The group paused for a moment, and Elsa was startled when a fluttering of black wings flew in front of her. She snapped her head around to see a raven flying over the group, soon followed by another, headed towards the harbor.

"They do that." An unfamiliar voice surprised Elsa again, and she gasped. One of the guards had spoken to her. "Mischievous buggers. I grew up here so I know better than most."

Elsa's throat constricted and her mouth dried, knowing that she'd have to respond to him, a stranger. "O-oh," she gasped out.

It seemed like it was enough of a response for him, and mercifully the conversation between the Queen and Deserun overrode any further attempts at 'banter' from him.

"Well… I have to say there _is_ enough wreckage… but its mostly the attackers'," Anna quipped with grim humor, as she handed Deserun back his spyglass after looking through it.

After a moment of looking at the distant ships, Deserun said, "I see the _Unyielding_ is still afloat, using her long range cannons to keep most of the larger enemy ships from getting a better position, and more of ours running interference. Though it looks like Admiral Hendrickson is only buying time…" He trailed off, lowering the glass. "It's the Weselton Fourth Fleet," he said, recognizing the enemy fleet.

"But they're primarily a raiding and harassment force," Anna recollected, now squinting at the battle due to the lack of a spyglass, "not outfitted for assaults or sieges. Their ships aren't supposed to be equipped for that. Not on this scale… There must be a reason," Anna mused, "A motive for them to risk a prolonged attack against one of our most defended cities, with my flagship defending it further."

Elsa, unable to _not_ eavesdrop, felt something register with the Queen's last sentence. She'd been paying attention with the mind of a frightened person, hyperaware and able to make connections a levelheaded person couldn't. Elsa had a thought flash through her mind, and she realized what it was without being able to put it to words.

And then promptly squashed the notion of speaking out. _It wouldn't be proper, and they probably wouldn't want to listen to me anyway. They're much more knowledgeable about this subject. I should just keep quiet and stay out of the way. Don't want to burden anyone._

However, the fates weren't being forgiving to her, as the sound of her name caught her attention. "Elsa?" She looked up suddenly into the Queen's teal eyes – _too close_! Elsa jolted, instinctively trying to back away and protect herself. But she was still on her horse and her movements were limited, and there was a wall of soldiers around her – she couldn't get to close to them either, lest she somehow hurt them.

 _I'm trapped, I'm trapped, trapped by those men agai… no… no._ Rational thought slowly crawled back to her, as the echoes of the past faded. _No, I'm not trapped. These are the Queen's guards… Anna's guards. They're not going to hurt me. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel it. Pull it together._

"Elsa?" Elsa looked back into the Queen's… _Anna's_ eyes, seeing concern, yet a question also in them. "You made a noise. You looked like you had something to say about our situation," she clarified, seeing the confusion Elsa now felt. "What is it?"

Elsa's mouth suddenly felt dry, and felt dozens of eyes on her. She wanted nothing more than to become so small they couldn't see her, to be ignored so she would be safer. A lifetime of being kept, and then being willingly silent to avoid notice stayed whatever words she wanted to say. But those turquoise eyes gave some measure of courage to timidly speak up.

"Ah… I was thinking… about what you said, a-and… y-you were wondering why they were attacking… Even though your ship is there. But… maybe they _know_ it's your ship and they're looking for _you_ ," Elsa gave voice to her thought, fragmented as it was.

Anna and Deserun stared blankly at her, unspeaking, and the other guards shifted in place. Elsa just wanted to disappear, feeling so ashamed and afraid of speaking up. _M-Mé nukén ænci öp siled a tawe çiyek..._ As she was about to make apologies for daring to speak (even though she was asked to do so), Anna and Deserun turned to each other. "Wow, I suppose we've been thinking too much like Mud Thumpers than Boat Boys, huh?" Anna said with a crooked smirk. ***2**

Now Elsa was confused at the blasé comment. "You're right," Anna told her, noticing the confusion, confusing Elsa even more with that statement. _H-how can I be right? I couldn't be…_ An odd feeling came to her. It was… warm. Fuzzy. _What's this feeling… she told me I was right. Am I… pleased?_

"I suppose I considered my ship as an added deterrent," Anna continued her explanation, "forgetting that if it's present, then I usually am as well. I see it as a reason to avoid a fight, but if they want to strike a crippling blow to Arendelle by capturing or killing me, then that would be more than enough cause to make such a risky attack."

"Naval power is vastly different than army power," Deserun took over the explanation. "While an army is a show of force, sometimes a single ship is the equivalent of one. And Her Majesty's flagship definitely counts as one."

"And because of their greed, their arrogance, they're condemning more of my people to fight and die. Damn them…"

Elsa saw a change happen in Anna. She'd seen smaller instances of it before, when she took command or gave out orders. But this was different, more intense than even when she found out Ravenden was under attack. It was resolution. It was a burning energy that just needed a spark to turn into an inferno.

"Well. If they want the Queen, then they'll get me. Bring out my armor!" Anna commanded. Two guards dropped from their horses and went to the other packhorse, unfastening one of the chests and putting it on the ground. Elsa realized it was Anna's chest, the one she had attempted to pilfer from the other night. They opened it and pulled out several pieces of armor.

They weren't quite the heavy plate armor that she'd seen on knights, but they were similar. However there was only a chest piece, greaves, and vambraces – still a lot, but not as much as the guards were wearing. Elsa blinked in disbelief seeing all this. _How did I miss this when I was rummaging through her chest?_ She watched fascinated as the two guards handed those still on their horses the armor. Anna held out her arms so the chest piece could be fastened around her, and then the vambraces. Since the first two guards were on the ground, they fitted her greaves onto her legs. All of this was done within a minute, the soldiers moving like a well running mill.

The breastplate was a dark grey with the golden Arendelle crocus presumably painted on the front. The vambraces were the most interesting piece, as they were a light silver-grey, with golden threads curling and wrapping around the metal almost like vines.

This was a completely different facet of the Queen – of _Anna_ , than what she's seen. And while she knew she shouldn't have been surprised due to the situation, Elsa couldn't help but be in awe at the sight of Anna dressed for war. The image she had that night ago of the "Warrior Queen" was far surpassed by this reality. Despite the anxiety of what was to come, a warm feeling crept up her body, and she felt a slight tingling in her fingertips. _She's even more beautiful than I thought…_

 _What am I thinking?! Stop it! You can't have such impure thoughts. It's wrong. I shouldn't have them. I'd be even more of a freak…_

Deserun spoke to Anna after she was suited. "I feel I should tell you not to charge right in and fight yourself, but I know you can fight as well if not better than most of us. Just don't take any unnecessary risks," he warned.

Anna smirked, but it was a solemn one. "A Noble must put the people ahead of themselves. A King, or Queen, must put the country ahead of themselves. I can do no less." With that resolute statement, Anna turned to the other guards.

"Today Weselton and their Oathbreaker allies have made yet another error, attacking one of our most prosperous cities. Not only that, but they seek to force Arendelle to surrender by capturing me. At this moment, their forces rampage through Ravenden searching for me, believing me to be with the _Unyielding_. I intend to meet them with steel and blood. We will triumph this day! _Forward_!" She cried, drawing her sword and pointing it at the city. A moment later, the guards cheered and as a group they urged their horses onwards.

Elsa could do little but ride with them, vainly attempting to control herself from panicking. The reigns started frosting over, her power fluctuating with her extreme emotions. The walls of Ravenden grew closer, and through her squinting eyes, Elsa saw a few figures at the top of the wall scrambling around.

Deserun had unfolded and mounted a banner on a wooden pole he had been carrying (Elsa had seen the pole but had put it out of mind), displaying their Arendelle colors. The banner flapped vigorously in the wind as they charged, and Elsa would think that it was a poetic sight if she wasn't so frightened and out of her element.

The gates opened for the Queen and they entered the city. "We make for the city hall!" The Queen shouted, and they pressed onward, the few soldiers on the roads parting to make way for them. So far there were no signs of a battle, but they were on the outskirts of the city, opposite of the bay where the battle was. But Elsa caught glimpses of people behind shutters and windows, barricaded inside their homes while the fighting went on, waiting it out for one side to be victorious.

 _If I wasn't with the Queen, I would be hiding along with them. But I would never have been in a house – maybe an alley or a shed with a weak lock I could frost over and break. In the outskirts like where I roamed before… What am I doing? Neves sil kerr. Why am I here? I'm not a soldier, I'm not a fighter, I can barely survive normality. I shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be following them. This was a mistake. ***3**_

It was with thunderous noise that they rode through the city, the hooves of their horses loudly stomping on the cobblestone roads. As they got closer to the fighting, Elsa couldn't differentiate between the hoof beats, the cannon blasts, and the hammering of her heart. The smell of smoke, of something burning, and iron wafted into her nostrils.

"There!" The sudden shout jolted Elsa, and she looked up to see a group of soldiers wearing maroon and grey ahead. The soldiers saw them and scrambled to mount a defense, but were too late to avoid the Queen's guard smashing into them full gallop, weapons piercing through them, slashing, hacking. The noise and screams of pain were something out of a nightmare to Elsa. Foregoing all appearances of calm, she closed her eyes, clutched her reigns, and laid down on the back of her horse, chanting her mantra over and over again until the horrible sounds stopped.

When a hand rested on her back, Elsa violently flinched away, and briefly saw the Queen's hurt expression before ducking her head. She heard more than saw the Queen shake her head before she barked, "Sound off!" A round of positive responses went off, save for one.

"My horse got hit," one guard said, who had now dismounted and was holding his limping horse by the reigns. "I'll have to continue on foot."

Elsa could see the conflict and indecision cross the Queen's face for a moment before she came to a decision. "Then we'll all continue on foot. The city hall is not far from here. We'll go and coordinate the defense from there."

The men dismounted. It was only when the Queen, Anna, held out her hand for Elsa to take did Elsa rouse herself from the trance she was in. She eyed the offered hand, but her eyes slid down to the sword Anna held in her left. There was a dark red liquid slowly dripping off of it that could only be one thing. In the future, she would regret her next action, but she shed away from the hand, from both revulsion and the lack of control she felt over her powers at the moment.

She slid off the horse on the other side of the Queen, reluctant to see what she knew would be disappointment in Anna's eyes and absently handed the reigns to a soldier.

"Fergus, Hawthorn. Take the horses to a safe stable," the Queen ordered. "The rest, follow me to the city hall." They moved to comply, and Elsa was left standing for a moment before the Queen spoke urgently to her. "I want you to stay close. When we get to the city hall, take refuge inside and stay safe. I should never have brought you into this," she said, quietly, almost as if she wasn't supposed to hear it.

Elsa made herself look at the Queen. She could see pain in her eyes, but from what, Elsa didn't know, for there were no wounds to be seen. She nodded in agreement and followed the guards, Anna bringing up the rear with Deserun.

The sounds of battle elsewhere echoed, with distant clashes of armor, weapons, and screams, punctuated by cannon blasts from the bay. The guard's armor also clacked as they briskly went to the hall, further adding to the sound. Elsa could barely hear herself think, couldn't form a coherent thought, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

There was rubble, and the occasional body from a previous skirmish –all Weselton soldiers however, as the Arendelle defenders had most likely retrieved their wounded or dead. On one occasion, the group had to duck down as an errant cannonball blew overhead, bringing some wooden splinters and glass down on them as the cannonball skimmed the front of a building. Elsa got a few small cuts from the glass, but nothing she couldn't handle –she'd had worse and done worse to herself. In a way, the glass cuts were almost a relief; that she could wait just a little longer.

Eventually, the city hall stood in front of them. It was a long structure, and only in the middle did it rise above the other buildings around it to form a bell tower, which was astoundingly unscathed from the battle. The bell was silent, having no need of use in this current crisis, serving no purpose, as it would be pointless to alert anyone of an attack that has been occurring for some time.

However, it wasn't the bastion of safety they'd expected. There were a large group of enemy soldiers in front of the city hall. Someone had barricaded themselves inside, and the Weselton soldiers had brought with them a makeshift battering ram to break down the doors. Those same doors were almost spent, the middle heavily dented. A few more hits and they could get through. The dead and dying bodies around the courtyard gave proof of a vicious fight for ground, as the colors of both sides littered the cobblestone. Elsa could _hear_ the Queen seethe at this sight, of her people dying.

Seeing their approach, the commander of the Weselton forces besieging the city hall made a group of around 15 men break off and charge at them.

The guards made to form ranks and meet them, but the Queen held a hand to stop them, baffling Elsa. "Stay here. I shall face them myself."

"Your Majesty, are you sure? You seem… angry. More so than you've been before," Deserun said, concernedly.

"Yes. You are right, Deserun. I'm angry that Weselton has killed my people. I'm angry that people had to die for the greed of petty men. But I'm also mad at myself, Deserun," she said, in a more somber tone. "I'm mad because I pushed when I shouldn't have. And I want to work some of this anger out." She paused and half turned her head. "Keep Elsa safe."

Elsa couldn't believe it when all Deserun did was sigh and tell the other guards to back off, leaving the Queen to fight alone. Yes, she'd heard rumors of the Queen's battle prowess, how she had gotten the name 'The Warrior Queen', and seeing the Queen in armor bolstered that image. But to face over a dozen soldiers by oneself is the utmost foolhardiness. Yet the Queen – yet _Anna_ did.

With calm measured steps, Anna strode to meet them. Elsa watched, confounded, as Anna removed her sheath from her belt and did _something_ with it. Then, with a surprisingly audible metallic clink over the ruckus, Anna's sheath _spread open_ , unfolding into a shield.

"What…?" Elsa murmured, not quietly enough, for Deserun gave a small chuckle and answered her unspoken question.

"That blade, and the shield that sheathes it, is unique – a relic of a bygone civilization. Not even Her Majesty knows its true origins, having only stories and legends. According to her, her three times great grandfather last used it, and supposedly King Aren I was the one to first wield it."

 _And now, she does,_ Elsa finished the unspoken line as Anna met the enemy's charge.

Anna ducked under the first strike, parried the second, and then _moved_. With almost unnatural grace, Anna deflected their blows and made sure hers struck. The first one to attack was also the first to die, her sword finding a chink in his armor and plunging deep before retreating with a spray of blood as it sought another victim, uncaring of the body slumping to the ground.

Elsa couldn't believe the sight before them. The Queen moved like water, flowing and striking almost as quick. She was constantly on the move, taking advantage of the enemies' numbers by making them get in their own way. She tripped one and quickly sprung up to hit another with the pummel of her sword, before using the momentum to spin and pierce another whilst deflecting a sword strike with her shield. The Queen used the shield as another weapon with almost as deadly effect as her sword, hitting faces and limbs with bone-breaking force.

The fight, if it could be called that, had only been going on for two minutes at the most. Indeed, nearly half the force was either dead or dying, and all that were left were suffering some sort of wound or bruise (at the least), while the Queen had nary a scratch. In fact, save for her parted lips drawing in heavy breath, it looked like it was taking no effort to fight those soldiers.

Elsa couldn't peel her eyes away from the Queen's lithe and powerful form. Much like when they first met, Elsa now saw the full beauty of Arendelle's Warrior Queen, and was enthralled. The ugliness that she'd seen before, the revulsion of seeing another life taken by someone that she'd become attached to swept away by the flowing waves of the Queen's red hair. The bloodshed had become the creation of an artist at work. It was brutal, yet elegant.

The enemy soldiers, their former bravado gone, were panicking. Four were left and they nervously clutched their weapons as the Queen calmly strode forward, pausing only to casually drive her sword into a wounded man, ending his life. This last act of intimidation broke their resolve, and they fled back to the main group, yelling and babbling in their panic.

"Miss Elsa." Deserun's voice cut through the enraptured haze Elsa was in. "If I know Her Majesty, in a moment we're going to join the battle. Find a spot to stay safe like she requested until the fighting's done." Elsa, still off balance from the vision he beheld, nodded dumbly and nearly stumbled backwards against a wall, gaining some emotional stability from leaning against it.

The attackers by now had abandoned the battering ram, as the commander saw they no longer needed it, for their quarry which they'd thought was trapped inside the city hall was instead right in front of them. They rallied and as a group charged forward, war cries echoing from their lips.

The Queen merely lifted her sword and pointed it at the charging enemy. Taking it as a sign, her guards charged forward in formation, far more disciplined than their foes. In a few moments they passed the Queen, who followed them, taking to the rear instead of being part of the spear point as she was before. The two forces clashed, and the way they had ended up let Elsa see the difference in training between the common Weselton soldier and the Arendelle Royal Guard.

The Weselton forces smashed against the Guards like water against rocks. The discipline of the Royal Guards held firm against the rabble and they advanced methodically, cutting through the enemy relentlessly, pushing towards the city hall.

Elsa watched this and reality came back to her, the fog that had enveloped her mind dispersing as the brutal clash jolted her senses. _What… It happened again. Why, why does this happen with the Queen? I can't do that._ Elsa's hand came to grasp the knife she had, itching to punish herself for such thoughts, but was restrained by her rational mind. It was not the time for that. Not while the danger was so close.

Instead she refocused on the battle. The Royal Guards were showing their superiority as not one of them had fallen, yet many of the Weselton soldiers had. Better armored and better trained to fight as a group, they were steadily marching forward, and the enemy showed signs of breaking.

Suddenly one the Royal Guards lurched and fell, an arrow shaft penetrating deep into his neck, having found its mark in a gap between his armor and helmet. No one else noticed as he had temporarily fallen back to the rear while everyone was pushing forward, the sound of his falling absorbed by the fighting. But because she was away from the fighting, Elsa saw it all. She was shocked, it was so sudden and abrupt that she froze. Recalling the arrow's flight, Elsa's worry prompted her to peak out from the overhang of the roof she was under to see who shot it.

On the roof of a building, two houses down to the right, stood a cloaked figure. Black wrappings over their face gave them no distinct features, and despite the sun shining strongly, she couldn't see much in the shadows the cloak created, giving her no idea of their gender or body shape. They carried a recursive bow with a quiver on their back, which the person was reaching for to get another arrow.

Clearly the person was an enemy, targeting the Royal Guards, but they didn't seem affiliated with the Weselton forces. The thought that they were didn't seem right to Elsa. _A rouge of some sort? Or perhaps a mercenary or bounty hunter? Or maybe… an assassin. And if he is an assassin,_ Elsa thought to herself, a sense of horror dawning on her, _then who would his target be?..._

With that cold horror coursing through her, her eyes traced the line of fire back to the battle and saw her dreadful thoughts were right. With the guard out of the way, the vulnerable back of Queen Anna was now an irresistible target.

Elsa frantically glanced back to the archer, and saw that he had another arrow knocked, and was about to draw. Her voice was caught in her throat, strangled by the panic and sudden indecision. She _should_ warn the Queen that her life was in danger. She _should_ protect her Queen from harm. But a lifetime of forcing and being forced out of the way - to keep quiet when actual _people_ were talking or doing things, prevented her from doing anything. When she tried it always backfired, causing her pain.

But Anna ran counter to everything she'd been taught. She knows about her curse - she knows what she's done yet doesn't flinch away. She promised more than what others have done and has worked to deliver, to make good on her word. And it was also that she was the _Queen of Arendelle_ that both made it so unbelievable and let her have hope. Hope that the life she was ghosting through would become something she wanted to live.

Elsa had wanted nothing more than to leap at Anna's offerings, but her own modesty and lack of self-worth made her resist. Maybe a bit of what was left of her pride as well, for she didn't want to be just a charity case –despite how much she probably needed it. Or perhaps she had just taught herself to never get her hopes up, that if she refused there would be no pain from having it ripped away. It had happened every time, so there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again… except the Queen's word. Except Anna's word.

And maybe that made all the difference.

 _I want this chance. And I want the Queen – I want Anna to live. Her life is far more valuable, far more important than mine. And maybe I can redeem myself for what I've done…_

Elsa's legs moved, and she ran towards the battle. It was an impulse that she willingly followed, her thoughts narrowed down to just one. _Protect the Queen. Protect Anna._

Her voice found a way out of her throat and cried out a warning. Her legs pounded on the ground as she urged her abused and mistreated body ever faster before it was too late, her arms outstretched to push Anna out of the way. She didn't care if her curse could hurt Anna, and in that moment she didn't even think about it. She turned her head and saw the archer let loose their shot.

 _I'm not going to make it._

She lunged forward. One last desperate attempt.

Her outstretched arms met Anna's back, shoving her forward. There was a split second where Anna had time to turn and meet Elsa's eyes, a moment where Elsa felt the satisfaction of saving someone's life.

Then she felt like fire had gone through her right side. She felt the pain abruptly stop, and then there was only blackness.

* * *

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* * *

Anna felt someone forcefully push her from behind, and berated herself for not paying attention to her surroundings, her mind thinking that her guards were behind her. She turned to confront the person and was shocked to see Elsa of all people was the one who had pushed her. Before she could question her, or even comprehend this, an arrow shaft pierced straight through Elsa's upper right arm, which was still outstretched after pushing her.

A horrendous cry of pain crawled out of Elsa's mouth for a second before her eyes rolled back and she passed out from shock. Anna looked down at Elsa's crumpled form, stunned. _No. Don't freeze up. The danger is still here. I can't afford to worry about Elsa's condition right now. I need to find where that archer is. Worrying can come later._ Anna forced herself to concentrate and pinpoint where the archer/assassin was. _There, two houses down._ She saw a figure on a roof with a telltale bow-shaped object in their hand. Acting on instinct, channeling the rage she felt building from someone she cared about getting hurt, she dropped her weapons and bent down, grasping a rusty looking knife off of the ground. Then, pausing only for a spit second, flung the knife at the archer in a perfect throw –the sheer force of her throw making up for the unbalanced nature of the knife.

The archer saw the knife coming and dropped off the building, his cloak bellowing behind him. With the Queen now aware of him and ready for any further attacks, there was no point in continuing his mission for it would be a fruitless endeavor. Dropping off on the opposite side, the archer vanished from sight.

Anna bit back a curse at the archer getting away and not being able to make him pay for hurting Elsa. _Elsa!_ Anna quickly scooped down and easily – _far too easily, she's so light_ \- picked up the blond, taking care not to jostle her injured and bloodied arm further. "Push onward! We're almost through!" She shouted. Indeed, the battle had been nearly a one-sided affair, her Royal Guards fighting as a unit compared to the rabble Weselton had scrounged up. They were far more motivated and determined, and that made all the more difference.

Suddenly, the bell atop the city hall started to ring, loud gongs echoing over the city. Anna looked up to see a lone sentry pulling the rope in the tower, previously sheltered atop unnoticed by all observers.

This bell was apparently a signal, for the doors of the city hall burst outward, and Ravenden defenders streamed out, falling upon the unprotected backs of the Weselton forces. Caught in a vice, the only two choices given were surrender or death, a choice many of the cowardly soldiers swiftly made. Weapons clattered to the ground and the Weselton soldiers threw their hands up in the universal gesture of a surrendering foe. For a brief moment, Anna was tempted to not be a merciful Queen. _My city was attacked, my people killed, and Elsa injured. They should be punished._

However the impulse was easily stifled and Anna let her soldiers round up those that had surrendered, instead walking towards the city hall, Elsa's still form held in her grasp. Intending to get medical help for the injured woman, Anna ignored everyone as she walked inside the hall, some of who were trying to get her attention.

It was a mess inside. Tables, chairs, benches, and all other miscellaneous things had been moved aside or barricaded up against windows or doors. There were a few injured Arendelle soldiers being taken care of by medics, and Anna made a beeline to them. "Help her," she said to one when he noticed her approach.

He looked surprised at seeing the Queen there, but as he made to kneel or bow, Anna stopped him. "There is a time for formalities -this is not it. Help her." She gently set Elsa down and let the medic check her. As he inspected the wound, Anna saw it was covered with a thin film of frost – enough to stay the bleeding somewhat. When the medic realized this and the implications, he abruptly looked to Anna.

"Not a word," she ordered. She saw him swallow, but eventually nod in consent. "Will she be alright?" She asked after a minute of silence.

The medic nodded, getting his bearings. "Yes, Your Majesty, she will be. The whole arrow went through her arm, but once disinfect and bind her arm she will be fine. As long as she doesn't use it for a while it should heal."

Anna gave a slight sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I'm merely doing my duty, Your Majesty…. But… about the wound…"

"You will tell no-one of that. I am fully aware of it and you will keep silent. Understood?"

"Yes m'lady," he bowed, following his Queen's commands.

Anna stood up and turned. Standing a short distance away was Deserun and the commander of the Ravenden forces, Colonel Benjonson. Deserun had retrieved her dropped weapons and handed them back to her.

"We lost Walters," Deserun said. "He got shot by an archer."

"I know," Anna said, holding her sheathed sword. "He was aiming for me. That's how Elsa got hurt, pushing me out of the way of his second shot."

Deserun's eyes flashed with surprise before they turned to the blond, softening marginally with respect. "She did a very brave thing in that case. She probably saved your life," he said, both of them knowing Anna's little secret.

"Yes…" Anna didn't know what else to say. _I need a way to make it up to her. I won't stand for her working as a maid or whatever anymore, not after what she did here. She deserves more…_

Her ruminations were disrupted when Colonel Benjonson greeted her. They'd met briefly when she'd arrived in Ravenden before setting off to Galørn, though it was merely a courtesy for him to introduce himself to his Queen and the meeting was short. "Queen Anna, I wish your return was heralded by better tidings, and not this violence."

"As do I. And on that subject, I would like an explanation as to why Weselton forces are in the city and why the defense fleet is gone, letting this attack occur." Anna's tone had gone cold and intimidating, her anger not yet cooled –rather stoked by Elsa's injury, and her carelessness and inconsideration.

 _I'm the one that has been pushing Elsa when she's clearly not comfortable with… anything really! She's so worried about her magic getting out. And what do I do? Drag her into a battle where she sees people killing people… me killing people. I hope I haven't made her think the worst of me. And then, I get her injured with a lapse in awareness! I mean, I might've gotten a_ little _hurt if I had been hit, but Elsa wouldn't have known that! "Just great Anna, you're really making a case for why she should come with you." Yeah, I know._

While her internal brooding was going on, Anna was also paying attention to what Benjonson was telling her. "Your Grace, this attack is part of a ploy to encircle and destroy the Weselton Fourth fleet. We've been having issues with vessels coming in and out of Ravenden getting harassed by their fleet, and while they haven't dared attack the city, it was too much too ignore. Every time we've tried to hunt them down they slip away, like a pack of hyenas trying to sneak the kill away from a lion. We could never lure them into a decisive battle until now.

"I approached High Admiral Hendrickson with a plan to destroy them for good, using an undefended harbor as enticement and the _Unyielding_ as bait for the trap. If they thought that Your Majesty were here, then they would use all available force to attack."

 _Another thing Elsa got right that I overlooked,_ Anna thought as she continued listening to his explanation.

Seeing the Queen understood so far, he continued. "We had to wait until they committed all their forces to make sure the trap would work. The navy would return once they had done so, blocking them from leaving the harbor and pinning them against the shores. Then the ground forces would push them back. That bell you heard signaled both that the fleet has returned and for the forces we've held in reserve to counterattack."

 _A good plan,_ Anna approved, her anger cooled at the rational and pragmatic plan, now knowing it was a deliberate move to have the fleet gone rather than gross incompetence –something Arendelle could scarcely afford. _However, there is one detail that I need to know._ "A very good plan Colonel. I commend both you and the Admiral for this. Although, I wish to know why I wasn't informed of this plan when I was here."

Deserun politely coughed into his fist, getting her attention. "Your Majesty, it was on your insistence that we left for Galørn as soon as possible. There wasn't time allotted for such a meeting to take place," he said, politely saying that she was too impatient. The Colonel, picking up on the latent hostility, nodded quickly.

Anna blinked.

 _Oh._ _Oops._

She fought the urge to cough, embarrassed. "Ah. Well, in any case it seems to have worked," Anna hid her flustered state. Deserun gave her a knowing smirk and she just barely resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him in a very un-queenly like manner. The three of them walked to the door and Anna listened harder. She heard more echoed cannons than before and more shouts in the distance. Seems that the trap has indeed worked.

"Congratulations are in order, Colonel Benjonson. I'm assuming that you are going to be coordinating the battle from here?"

"Yes, that's one of the reasons why the weasels were trying to break in when you arrived, aside from assuming your Highness was inside."

 _Good. Then I have free reign to go out._ "Then I shall go out and finish this fight."

The Colonel seemed surprised. "Your Majesty, you shouldn't go back into the fighting, it's too dangerous."

 _Yeah, for them._ "As the Queen, I must lead by example. I want to make the Weselton forces pay. Besides, I led the Battle of Fredja and I ended up fine." _Literally, I led the charge._

Instead of waiting for him to reply, Anna strode out of the city hall. In front were a bunch of Arendelle soldiers –more than before. Some were leading Weselton prisoners away, but most were readying for the counterattack. Her personal guard was alert and on standby, their faces hardened at loosing one of their own.

"How many do you require to defend the hall?" She inquired the Colonel.

"No more than two dozen thereabouts," he replied. "Before the battle started I ordered them to go on the offensive once the trap was sprung, so there shouldn't be much defending to do."

Anna nodded and then spoke to the soldiers, who quickly quieted down when they realized who was speaking. "All of you! Now is the time to drive the enemy out of our city! It's time to make them regret invading our land and forsaking their vows! To me, and drive them out of the city!"

She was greeted with a roar of enthusiasm, making a gleeful grin spread across her face. _I love this. This is why I like being the Queen. Commanding them and having them follow me literally to death._

"You do have a way of motivating the men," Deserun commented softly, leaning towards her to say so.

"I know right?" Anna replied with a grin. The grin soon faded though and she turned to her guards. "Stay in a loose formation. We have the momentum and now's the time to catch them unprepared. We make for the docks." The men nodded in affirmation and clanged their weapons together.

Anna drew her sword and cried to the assembled men, "For Arendelle!"

"FOR ARENDELLE!" The soldiers roared.

* * *

The fighting was short yet brutal. With over 40 soldiers and guards they made up one of the larger parties roaming the city. The citywide counterattack was working as planned, with the Weselton soldiers caught off guard when the defenders they've been pushing back abruptly started to push back with twice the men as before. Blocks previously thought secured were suddenly inundated with Arendelle forces, cutting off retreat routes to the harbor.

Many surrendered with a token resistance. Largely, those were the ones who'd been pressed into Weselton's army or navy, having no real motivation to 'fight for the cause'. These were the easier ones to deal with, as they knew to give up.

Then there were those that were in it for Weselton's profits, the 'cause' so to speak. These were the ones that believed the propaganda the Duke was spewing out, safe in his fortress far away from the real fighting. They were the ones that fought the fiercest, venomously standing their ground despite being overwhelmed and cut off, and also died for their trouble. Problem was, they also killed for their trouble.

And lastly there were the mercenaries who were only in it for profit. They were the ones that had no true allegiance to Weselton or the Coalition, but to the Mëten supplied to them and what they could make off of what they pillaged. They were the worst of the lot, for they looted the city rather than try and keep it intact. They were the ones who surrendered, and then tried to escape or stabbed the soldiers in the back.

Anna saw all three of them, and while she made them pay, in her heart she cried for all of them. For the ones forced to fight, the ones deluded into sacrificing their lives for one man's greed, and the ones who've strayed from moral paths – who enjoy peoples suffering. She both hated and loved fighting, for despite how much she enjoyed it, how much she was a natural at it, she hated that she had to take lives because of it – regardless of how twisted their lives had become.

Thankfully there seemed to be few of the mercenaries and fewer fanatics, so they took more prisoners than killed. The hired weapons were easy to identify by their attire – no consistency or resemblance to the Weselton uniforms, save for some sort of maroon band around their arm or such sort to signal what side they were on.

 _Is Weselton getting low on men, or are they just being cheap?_ The thought occurred to Anna as they finished off a mixed group of soldiers and mercenaries. Arendelle forces were quickly securing the city with their counterattack and they were close to the docks now. _Probably cheap. Definitely cheap. But effective none-the-less,_ she thought as she looked at two more dead Arendelle soldiers, bringing their losses up to nine. However, as they went, they gathered more Arendelle soldiers, bolstering their numbers.

Bringing her mind back to the present, she almost casually swiped her sword outward and lopped off the head of an enemy trying to attack her. There was some pity, some remorse she felt, but it was overshadowed by the knowledge of what they've done and the anger because of it. _They brought this on themselves._

"They're on their last stand, they know they're beaten!" She shouted, encouraging her group. "Once we recapture the docks, our victory is assured!"

Another side benefit to her fondness of fighting was she tried to lead from the front, unlike most generals or kings. And in turn, seeing their Queen fighting along side them boosted her soldiers' moral, making them fight harder. This hasn't failed her yet - though because there was only one of her, she couldn't be at every battle. Also she was the Queen. Someone had to keep the kingdom running. It certainly wouldn't be the council.

The group pushed onward and soon came to the docks. Because Ravenden had such a wide harbor, if one looked in either direction, they would be able to see the curve of the bay and most of the coastline. That's how her group was able to spot a cluster of enemy fighters at the end of a pier. Quickly moving to prevent them from escaping, they advanced towards them.

Anna took the lead, shield in front in case anyone had longer-range weapons and tried to use them. As they advanced she took stock of the naval side of things. The Arendelle fleet had blockaded the harbor and was in the process of shredding the Weselton Fourth fleet as they tried to escape. The _Unyielding_ , her personal flagship, had pealed off from the fighting and docked to rest and repair, having took the brunt of the first assault nearly by herself. Thanks to her special hull though, she was in no danger of sinking and would be able to sail back to Heimr Àrnadalr after minor repairs.

She refocused on the enemy group… and they seemed to be arguing with each other? _Wait, what?_ Sure enough, she could hear two people bickering with each other, though one sounded like he was doing more bickering than the other. As they approached, she got a good look at the two.

One was a taller man, black hair with black clothes of a mercenary, though his clothes looked more professional – more like an actual uniform than the others. Later Anna would admit he had a roguish look to him, which made him quite handsome. He carried a sword, but the most defining thing about him was his left hand had been replaced with a hook. He seemed like the calmer of the two, but more frustrated with the other.

The other man was someone that Anna immediately thought as a Weselton. Not the duchy, but from the family Weselton. Looking like a stiff breeze could blow him over, his wispy grey hair and white goatee signaled him as a noble. _Probably someone who'd bought their commission and had never personally fought in their life._ He was dressed in a fancy uniform, showing he had more money than strength. The rest of the group appeared to be mercenaries, as there wasn't a single Weselton uniform among them.

The Weselton commander stopped his arguing with the other and hid behind him when her group approached.

"Protect me!" He ordered, trying to sound authoritative yet utterly failing with his cowering. The assorted men rolled their eyes but did so, though less than halfheartedly. The hook handed man muttered "Bloody hell, you can't even face surrender with backbone. My god man."

"This is not the time for this! Are you blind? The enemy is right in front of you!" The commander complained. "Fight them and get us out of this city!"

"Yeaaaah how 'bout no? I prefer living over dying in a pointless fight," the man replied. While the Weselton commander sputtered ( _okay, he_ has _to be related to the Duke somehow_ , Anna thought, seeing the resemblance), the dark haired-man turned to her group and greeted them.

"Why hello there, your Highness. Such a surprise seeing you here. I'm utterly charmed by your presence. But where are my manors," he said, then bowed. "Captain Killian Jones, at your service. I'm afraid you've caught me at a rather bad time and not in the bests of situations." As he spoke, Anna detected a hint of an accent, similar to a DunBroch one, but far less heavy (and more understandable – for as much as Anna liked Princess Merida and King Fergus, sometimes it was downright impossible to understand them.)

Despite his pleasant words, Anna did not let down her guard. "With the authority I have as the reigning Monarch of Arendelle, I am offering you one chance to surrender peacefully. No further harm will come to you if you accept and will be treated fairly as a prisoner of war."

Jones winced at her harsh tone. "Don't suppose we can come to a deal? I don't fancy having to sit inside a prison until this bloody war's over."

"No! No compromise! No deals!" The Weselton commander shrieked, interrupting. "Fight to the last man!" _It would be a tad bit more inspiring if he weren't trying to hide behind them all,_ Anna thought.

"And I suppose you'll lead the charge in that case, just like our dear Queen here?" Jones taunted back, cowing the commander. After a moment, he spoke to the men behind him. "You know boys, I think our dear handler here should set the example for us. We are, after all, 'stupid mercenaries'," he said, clearly mocking the commander for a previous insult. He then kicked the commander in front of him, causing him to fall over.

"Y-you! I am your commanding officer! I order you to fight! I order you all to fight!" The commander stammered, clearly rattled by this. Honestly, Anna was wondering what in the world was going on. _I've clearly walked in onto some sort of internal strife-slash-power struggle. But what's Jones' angle here?_

Jones gave him a demeaning look. "You must be barmy to think that we will take any further orders from you." For some reason, Jones then looked to Anna. "This weasel has been running us ragged for no reason, tries to order unnecessary attacks, and is in essence, a prick. However he's a high ranking prick, so I leave him in your capable hands." _Oh. Now I think I see the angle he's trying to play. Trying to get a pardon, or at least better conditions, in exchange for their willing surrender and handing over their commanding officer –with additional information probably to pad the deal. However, I don't doubt he knows that_ I _know I could just capture them all without making a deal._

The 'Prick' commander, however, was taking this as well as could be expected. "This-this is mutiny!" He cried, aghast at what was happening.

"Why yes, I believe it is," Killian Jones dryly agreed. Then he stepped forward and booted the still unnamed commander off the pier. 'Prick' gave a very high-pitched cry before there was a splash. Nobody on either side seemed to care all that much.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, though I'd personally send someone to pull him out before he drowns." He peered over the edge. "Bloody hell, what do you know? He can actually swim." Jones sounded genuinely surprised at that. "Can you believe that he named my ship the _Jewel of the Realm_? Honestly it's such a pompous title; the Coalition hasn't even won the war they started."

That last line caught Anna's attention. "You know the truth about this war?"

"Oh honey, everyone that isn't involved knows that this is just a couple of Dukes and lesser Kings getting uppity and seizing a chance when they saw it. Though they weren't banking on someone such as Your Majesty being a competent Queen. Or a superb fighter. Most bet that Arendelle would have a new King in a month or two. It's been over a year, so kudos to you, Your Highness."

Anna was a bit disturbed at the nonchalant way he described the war and what others outside thought of it. _Then again, I have to take his words with a grain of salt. Though with the information Viscount Oulf gave me…_

Deserun seemed to have had enough of the mercenary's causal tone. "Mind your words, sir. You are speaking to the Queen."

"I very well know who I'm speaking to, thank you very much," Jones snapped back.

"Enough," Anna cut in. "Are you going to surrender?" She gripped her sword a little tighter as a warning, which he clearly got as his eyes glanced down momentarily.

"Look, now that the prick's out of the way, why don't we all just ease up a bit and resolve this without further violence?" He offered, a business tone coming into his voice. "There's been unfortunately enough of it already. And as I said before, I really don't want to be sitting in a prison watched."

There was a moment of relative silence. A raven somewhere cawed. Then, "You like to talk a lot, don't you," Anna dryly said.

Killian smirked, amusement in his eyes. "A personal flaw of mine, but one that has rarely failed me." His eyes flicked to the right. "After all, all I needed to do was keep talking to buy time."

Instantly Anna's guard came up, and she knew she would regret asking, but she did anyway. "Buy time for what?"

Jones gave her a smile that, in other circumstances would've been quite appealing. "For my ship to come and pick us up."

Anna felt the soldiers behind her react before her, in surprise and in alarm. Internally sighing, she looked. Bearing down on them with full speed was a ship, not flying any colors, but clearly of Southern Isle make. On deck, a cannon had been mounted at the front, and the gunner was aiming at her. "Back! Fall back!" She shouted in a panic. She would never dare try to block a cannon shot.

The cannon fired, and the wooden pier in front of her violently exploded into splinters, a sizable hole in-between them and the mercenary group. Anna's shield protected her from the splinters, so she was one of the first to recover. The hole was too big to safely cross over, so the mercenaries had isolated themselves. But not without a way to escape.

With an expert helmsman at the wheel, the ship barely missed the pier. The crew aboard had fixed a wide rope net to the starboard side, which the mercenaries leapt and grabbed ahold of, allowing the crew to get onboard without the ship slowing down. It was the most impressive and ingenious retreat that Anna had seen.

As if hearing her praise, Killian, who was holding on by his hook hand, turned and gave a parting taunt. "Farewell, Queen Anna! Best of luck with your war, me and my crew want of further part in it! If you should hear of me again, it will be of the pirate ship _The Jolly Roger_!" The crew cheered as they sailed away, heading towards the other end of the harbor where a gap in the Arendelle blockade was.

As the cheers and celebrations of the newly declared pirates faded, the group of Arendellians were left silent and speechless, confused by the turn of events. Even Deserun was fazed.

Anna… Anna had one thing that summed it all up.

"Well… that happened."

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

 ***1** \- **Ba Den Orlene, Mé'l su iémrll: By the Gods, I'm so selfish.**

 ***2- M-Mé nukén ænci öp siled a tawe çiyek: I knew speaking up was a bad idea.**

 ***3 - Neves sil kerr: This is crazy.**

* * *

 **I was 6,000 words in, wrapping up Elsa's POV segment, when I thought I was done.**

 **Then I realized that I wasn't. The first reason was I hadn't wrapped as much up as I wanted to, and with the next chapter being mainly exposition (sorry for that in advance), I wanted to finish up the raid as it would've flowed better. The second is that it would've been really poor taste to leave it on yet another cliffhanger after a year of not updating. So hopefully this makes up for it.**

 **I'm actually somewhat afraid of this, as it's been a year and I feel that the style of writing for this has subtly changed enough to be different. I'm also afraid that my characterizations of Anna and Elsa, the two most important characters, are off somehow. I haven't exactly gone back and re-read my story, so that may backfire. But I'm trying to stick to my ideas.**

 **So to actually talk about the details, first off ravens are actually one of my favorite birds, so I named a city after them. Simple as that. Elsa's still having a lot of trouble and Anna's still trying to be helpful but has to fight a war and run a country first.**

 **And if you recognize the name Killian Jones, it is from one of my favorite shows (that I used to watch) Once Upon a Time. Stopped watching it during season 5 when they went to Hell or something like that (it's been a few years) because it was getting hard to follow and plus the villains never stayed dead. It was kinda annoying. In any case, I used him because I wanted to, and I may have more references and characters from that show in the future (and others). I'm cherry picking of course, as this is it's own thing, not trying to be related to any other shows.**

 **Further, with Anna's sword/sheath/shield combo, fans of the show RWBY might recognize the concept, and I will admit I did take it from the show. However, in the next chapter I will describe how the shield is a different shape (and the story picture shows the sword), and there will be a perfectly legitimate reason it's designed the way it is - it'll take a while for the reveal, but it'll make sense, trust me. I'm playing the long game here (in more ways than one).  
It's one of 3 things I've 'stolen' from RWBY. I plan to use them sparingly so don't get too mad. **

**I've been following a pattern with my chapters, first Anna's POV, then Elsa's, then Anna, then this chapter starts off with Elsa then goes into Anna. I've planned out the story this way and it'll continue like this, so if there's a chapter that flips back and forth between the two, then it's a more critical chapter than others. Just a bit of info if anybody noticed.**

 **So that's all I have to say. Sorry for the long wait and I frankly have no excuses and the only reason is bad time management and laziness. Also with that, as I usually update another story during this time of the year, t** **here's no way in hell I'll be able to get the next chapter of _An Unexpected Rose_ out this year. Best estimate is mid to late January. **

**That wraps this chapter up. Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow!** **Reviews are most welcome and are _constructive_ criticisms! I always want to improve.**

 **So until next time!**

 **-OrangeGalen**


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